An ABC

The Canterbury Tales and Other Works of Chaucer (Middle English), by Geoffery Chaucer, [14th cent.], at sacred-texts.com

The Shorter Poems

An ABC

 Almighty and al merciable queene,
 To whom that al this world fleeth for socour,
 To have relees of sinne, of sorwe, and teene,
 Glorious virgine, of alle floures flour,
 To thee I flee, confounded in errour.
 Help and releeve, thou mighti debonayre,
 Have mercy on my perilous langour.
 Venquisshed me hath my cruel adversaire.
 Bountee so fix hath in thin herte his tente
10 That wel I wot thou wolt my socour bee;
 Thou canst not warne him that with good entente
 Axeth thin helpe, thin herte is ay so free.
 Thou art largesse of pleyn felicitee,
 Haven of refut, of quiete, and of reste.
 Loo, how that theeves sevene chasen mee.
 Help, lady bright, er that my ship tobreste.
 Comfort is noon but in yow, ladi deere;
 For loo, my sinne and my confusioun,
 Which oughten not in thi presence appeere,
20 Han take on me a greevous accioun
 Of verrey right and desperacioun;
 And as bi right thei mighten wel susteene
 That I were wurthi my dampnacioun,
 Nere merci of you, blisful hevene queene.
 Dowte is ther noon, thou queen of misericorde,
 That thou n' art cause of grace and merci heere;
 God vouched sauf thurgh thee with us to accorde.
 For certes, Crystes blisful mooder deere,
 Were now the bowe bent in swich maneere
30 As it was first of justice and of ire,
 The rightful God nolde of no mercy heere;
 But thurgh thee han we grace as we desire.
 Evere hath myn hope of refut been in thee,
 For heer-biforn ful ofte in many a wyse
 Hast thou to misericorde receyved me.
 But merci, ladi, at the grete assyse
 Whan we shule come bifore the hye justyse.
 So litel fruit shal thanne in me be founde
 That, but thou er that day correcte [vice],
40 Of verrey right my werk wol me confounde.
 Fleeinge, I flee for socour to thi tente
 Me for to hide from tempeste ful of dreede,
 Biseeching yow that ye you not absente
 Thouh I be wikke. O, help yit at this neede!
 Al have I ben a beste in wil and deede,
 Yit, ladi, thou me cloth. with thi grace.
 Thin enemy and myn -- ladi, tak heede --
 Unto my deth in poynt is me to chace!
 Glorious mayde and mooder, which that nevere
50 Were bitter, neither in erthe nor in see,
 But ful of swetnesse and of merci evere,
 Help that my Fader be not wroth with me.
 Spek thou, for I ne dar not him ysee,
 So have I doon in erthe, allas the while,
 That certes, but if thou my socour bee,
 To stink eterne he wole my gost exile.
 He vouched sauf, tel him, as was his wille,
 Bicome a man, to have oure alliaunce,
 And with his precious blood he wrot the bille
60 Upon the crois as general acquitaunce
 To every penitent in ful creaunce;
 And therfore, ladi bright, thou for us praye.
 Thanne shalt thou bothe stinte al his grevaunce,
 And make oure foo to failen of his praye.
 I wot it wel, thou wolt ben oure socour,
 Thou art so ful of bowntee, in certeyn,
 For whan a soule falleth in errour
 Thi pitee goth and haleth him ayein.
 Thanne makest thou his pees with his sovereyn
70 And bringest him out of the crooked strete.
 Whoso thee loveth, he shal not love in veyn,
 That shal he fynde as he the lyf shal lete.
 Kalenderes enlumyned ben thei
 That in this world ben lighted with thi name,
 And whoso goth to yow the righte wey,
 Him thar not drede in soule to be lame.
 Now, queen of comfort, sith thou art that same
 To whom I seeche for my medicyne,
 Lat not my foo no more my wounde entame;
80 Myn hele into thin hand al I resygne.
 Ladi, thi sorwe kan I not portreye
 Under the cros, ne his greevous penaunce;
 But for youre bothes peynes I yow preye,
 Lat not oure alder foo make his bobaunce
 That he hath in his lystes of mischaunce
 Convict that ye bothe have bought so deere.
 As I seide erst, thou ground of oure substaunce,
 Continue on us thi pitous eyen cleere!
 Moises, that saugh the bush with flawmes rede
90 Brenninge, of which ther never a stikke brende,
 Was signe of thin unwemmed maidenhede.
 Thou art the bush on which ther gan descende
 The Holi Gost, the which that Moyses wende
 Had ben a-fyr, and this was in figure.
 Now, ladi, from the fyr thou us defende
 Which that in helle eternalli shal dure.
 Noble princesse, that nevere haddest peere,
 Certes if any comfort in us bee,
 That cometh of thee, thou Cristes mooder deere.
100 We han noon oother melodye or glee
 Us to rejoyse in oure adversitee,
 Ne advocat noon that wole and dar so preye
 For us, and that for litel hire as yee
 That helpen for an Ave-Marie or tweye.
 O verrey light of eyen that ben blynde,
 O verrey lust of labour and distresse,
 O tresoreere of bountee to mankynde,
 Thee whom God ches to mooder for humblesse!
 From his ancille he made the maistresse
110 Of hevene and erthe, oure bille up for to beede.
 This world awaiteth evere on thi goodnesse
 For thou ne failest nevere wight at neede.
 Purpos I have sum time for to enquere
 Wherfore and whi the Holi Gost thee soughte
 Whan Gabrielles vois cam to thin ere.
 He not to werre us swich a wonder wroughte,
 But for to save us that he sithen boughte.
 Thanne needeth us no wepen us for to save,
 But oonly ther we dide not, as us oughte,
120 Doo penitence, and merci axe and have.
 Queen of comfort, yit whan I me bithinke
 That I agilt have bothe him and thee,
 And that my soule is worthi for to sinke,
 Allas, I caityf, whider may I flee?
 Who shal unto thi Sone my mene bee?
 Who, but thiself, that art of pitee welle?
 Thou hast more reuthe on oure adversitee
 Than in this world might any tonge telle.
 Redresse me, mooder, and me chastise,
130 For certeynly my Faderes chastisinge,
 That dar I nouht abiden in no wise,
 So hidous is his rightful rekenynge.
 Mooder, of whom oure merci gan to springe,
 Beth ye my juge and eek my soules leche;
 For evere in you is pitee haboundinge
 To ech that wole of pitee you biseeche.
 Soth is that God ne granteth no pitee
 Withoute thee; for God of his goodnesse
 Foryiveth noon, but it like unto thee.
140 He hath thee maked vicaire and maistresse
 Of al this world, and eek governouresse
 Of hevene, and he represseth his justise
 After thi wil; and therfore in witnesse
 He hath thee corowned in so rial wise.
 Temple devout, ther God hath his woninge,
 Fro which these misbileeved deprived been,
 To you my soule penitent I bringe.
 Receyve me -- I can no ferther fleen.
 With thornes venymous, O hevene queen,
150 For which the eerthe acursed was ful yore,
 I am so wounded, as ye may wel seen,
 That I am lost almost, it smert so sore.
 Virgine, that art so noble of apparaile,
 And ledest us into the hye tour
 Of Paradys, thou me wisse and counsaile
 How I may have thi grace and thi socour,
 All have I ben in filthe and in errour.
 Ladi, unto that court thou me ajourne
 That cleped is thi bench, O freshe flour,
160 Ther as that merci evere shal sojourne.
 Xristus, thi sone, that in this world alighte
 Upon the cros to suffre his passioun,
 And eek that Longius his herte pighte
 And made his herte blood to renne adoun,
 And al was this for my salvacioun;
 And I to him am fals and eek unkynde,
 And yit he wole not my dampnacioun --
 This thanke I yow, socour of al mankynde!
 Ysaac was figure of his deth, certeyn,
170 That so fer forth his fader wolde obeye
 That him ne roughte nothing to be slayn;
 Right soo thi Sone list as a lamb to deye.
 Now, ladi ful of merci, I yow preye,
 Sith he his merci mesured so large,
 Be ye not skant, for alle we singe and seye
 That ye ben from vengeaunce ay oure targe.
 Zacharie yow clepeth the open welle
 To wasshe sinful soule out of his gilt.
 Therfore this lessoun oughte I wel to telle,
180 That, nere thi tender herte, we were spilt.
 Now, ladi bryghte, sith thou canst and wilt
 Ben to the seed of Adam merciable,
 Bring us to that palais that is bilt
 To penitentes that ben to merci able. Amen.