Union With Christ

As the moon and its beams are one,
So that I be one with Thee,
This is my prayer to Thee, my Lord,
This is this beggar’s plea.

I would snare Thee and hold Thee ever,
In loving wifely ways;
I give Thee a daughter’s welcome,
I give Thee a sister’s praise.

As words and their meaning are linked,
Serving one purpose each,
Be Thou and I so knit, O Lord,
And through me breathe Thy speech.

O be my soul a mirror clear,
That I may see Thee there;
Dwell in my thought, my speech, my life,
Making them glad and fair.

Take Thou this body, O my Christ,
Dwell as its soul within;
To be an instant separate
I count a deadly sin.

Nārāyan Vāman Tilak.