Why, since you woundedA warning: I am not a scholar of St. John of the Cross's poetry so my reading of his poem could be completely wrong. This, however, is how I interpreted it: the wounding that the poet speaks of is not a literal but spiritual wounding. It is not a negative wounding, either, but rather, one that is positive: This is because the poet has been 'wounded' by God as a result of God revealing Himself to him. When the poet asks God to heal him, he is asking God for more of His spirit, His love: having tasted that spirit, the poet wants, needs, more of it.
this heart, don't you heal it?
And why, since you stole it form
me,
do you leave it so,
and fail to carry off what you have
stolen?
In the third line, the poet refers to God having stolen his heart. This is his wounding by another name. Curiously, as it may seem, despite having stolen the poet's heart, God has then left it behind. Is he a bad thief? No, of course not! The reason God has not taken the heart away with Him is because the poet has not yet allowed himself to be consumed by God's spirit, His love. In reality, God steals nothing. We give Him everything. If that is the case, why does the poet refer to God stealing his heart? I think he does so for the same reason song writers do when they write love songs. It is a neat figure of speech that expresses their love for their beloved.
Well, it has been a long, long time since I wrote a poetry criticism. I hope I have done so at least half-adequately here. I love the images that St. John of the Cross uses. Because of all the love songs and romances I have read/watched they are very familiar. The ultimate value of the stanza is that it reminds me of what our relationship with God is all about: us being consumed by His divine fire, His spirit, His love because it is there (and only there) that true happiness lies.
Adent - 19
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