Religion
Maelisu's Hymn to the Archangel Michael
Translated by Kuno Meyer (1911) · From Selections from Ancient Irish Poetry (1911): Religious Poetry
O angel!
Bear, O Michael of great miracles,
To the Lord my plaint.
Hearest thou?
Ask of forgiving God
Forgiveness of all my vast evil.
Delay not!
Carry my fervent prayer
To the King, to the great King!
To my soul
Bring help, bring comfort
At the hour of its leaving earth.
Stoutly
To meet my expectant soul
Come with many thousand angels!
O soldier!
Against the crooked, wicked, militant world
Come to my help in earnest!
Do not
Disdain what I say!
As long as I live do not desert me!
Thee I choose,
That thou mayst save my soul,
My mind, my sense, my body.
O thou of goodly counsels,
Victorious, triumphant one,
Angelic slayer of Antichrist!
Cite this poem
MLA
Anonymous (Old Irish). “Maelisu's Hymn to the Archangel Michael.” Translated by Kuno Meyer. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-old-irish/16/.
Chicago
Anonymous (Old Irish). “Maelisu's Hymn to the Archangel Michael.” Translated by Kuno Meyer. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-old-irish/16/.
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