Michelangelo (1475–1564)

Translated by John Addington Symonds

THE SUGAR, candles, and the saddled mule,

Together with your cask of malvoisie,

So far exceed all my necessity

That Michael and not I my debt must rule.

In such a glassy calm the breezes fool

My sinking sails, so that amid the sea

My bark hath missed her way, and seems to be

A wisp of straw whirled on a weltering pool.

To yield thee gift for gift and grace for grace,

For food and drink and carriage to and fro,

For all my need in every time and place,

O my dear lord, matched with the much I owe,

All that I am were no real recompense:

Paying a debt is not munificence.