2 poemas

The madness of love

Is a rich fief;
Anyone who recognized this
Would not ask Love for anything else:
It can unite Opposites
And reverse the paradox.
I am declaring the truth about this:
The madness of love makes bitter what was sweet,
It makes the stranger a kinsman,
And it makes the smallest the most proud.

To souls who have not reached such love,
I give this good counsel:
If they cannot do more,
Let them beg Love for amnesty,
And serve with faith,
According to the counsel of noble Love,
And think: ‘It can happen,
Love’s power is so great!’
Only after his death
Is a man beyond cure.

Love has subjugated me:

To me this is no surprise,

For she is strong and I am weak.

She makes me

Unfree of myself,

Continually against my will.

She does with me what she wishes;

Nothing of myself remains to me;

Formerly I was rich,

No I am poor: everything is lost in love.

Hadewijch de Antuérpia
(trad. Columba Hart)

Hadewijch: The Complete Works

1980, ed. Paulist Press

pintura de Rogier van der Weyden