A La Virgen Maria (To The Virgin Mary)
Mary, sweet peace and dearest consolation
of suffering mortal: you are the fount whence springs
the current of solicitude that brings
unto our soil unceasing fecundation.
From your abode, enthroned on heaven's height,
in mercy deign to hear my cry of woe
and to the radiance of your mantle draw
my voice that rises with so swift a flight.
You are my mother, Mary, and shall be
my life, my stronghold, my defense most thorough;
and you shall be my guide on this wild sea.
If vice pursues me madly on the morrow,
if death harasses me with agony:
come to my aid and dissipate my sorrow!
Background
"A La Virgen Maria" is a sonnet written by the Philippine national hero, Jose Rizal. The story of this sonnet is said to be about the last member of a prominent clan in the Muslim Kingdom of Granada around during the 15th century. It was written during Rizal's academic stay in Ateneo Municipal de Manila on 3 December 1876.
