Pierre de Ronsard (1524–1585)

Translated by Henry Francis Cary
J’aime la Fleur

TWO flowers I love, the March-flower and the rose,

The lovely rose that is to Venus dear,

The March-flower that of her the name doth bear,

Who will not leave my spirit in repose:

Three birds I love; one, moist with May-dew, goes

To dry his feathers in the sunshine clear;

One for his mate laments throughout the year,

And for his child the other wails his woes:

And Bourgueil’s pine I love, where Venus hung,

For a proud trophy on the darksome bough,

Ne’er since released, my youthful liberty:

And Phœbus’ tree love I, the laurel tree,

Of whose fair leaves, my mistress, when I sung,

Bound with her locks a garland for my brow.