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Sonnet: To a Friend who does not pity his Love

by Guido Cavalcanti c. 1255–1300

Translated by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1861) · From The Early Italian Poets (1861)

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If I entreat this lady that all grace
Seem not unto her heart an enemy,
Foolish and evil thou declarest me,
And desperate in idle stubbornness.
Whence is such cruel judgment thine, whose face,
To him that looks thereon, professeth thee
Faithful, and wise, and of all courtesy,
And made after the way of gentleness.
Alas! my soul within my heart doth find
Sighs, and its grief by weeping doth enhance,
That, drown'd in bitter tears, those sighs depart:
And then there seems a presence in the mind,
As of a lady's thoughtful countenance
Come to behold the death of the poor heart.

MLA

Cavalcanti, Guido. “Sonnet: To a Friend who does not pity his Love.” Translated by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/cavalcanti/14/.

Chicago

Cavalcanti, Guido. “Sonnet: To a Friend who does not pity his Love.” Translated by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/cavalcanti/14/.

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