RIMA LXXIV

            Their cloaks loosened,
            their backs uncovered,
on the lintel of the doorway
            two angels were watching.

            I approached the iron bars
            that guarded the entrance,
and far behind the double iron grates
            I saw her white figure.

            I saw her like an image
            that appears in a dream,
like a dim and scattered ray of light
            that swims in the shadows.

            I began to feel a burning
            desire that filled my soul;
like an abyss that beckons, that mystery
            was drawing me closer!

            But alas!, the angels with their
steadfast gaze seemed to be saying:
            «No one but God can cross
            the threshold of this door!»