Petrarch (Francisco Petrarca) (1304–1374)

Translated by Thomas Wentworth Higginson

SHE ruled in beauty o’er this heart of mine,

A noble lady in a humble home,

And now her time for heavenly bliss has come,

’Tis I am mortal proved, and she divine.

The soul that all its blessings must resign,

And love whose light no more on earth finds room,

Might rend the rocks with pity for their doom,

Yet none their sorrows can in words enshrine;

They weep within my heart; and ears are deaf

Save mine alone, and I am crushed with care,

And naught remains to me save mournful breath.

Assuredly but dust and shade we are,

Assuredly desire is blind and brief,

Assuredly its hope but ends in death.