Love
Vita Nuova: 'To every heart which the sweet pain doth move'
Translated by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1861; text of the Ellis and Elvey edition, 1899) · From La Vita Nuova
To every heart which the sweet pain doth move,
And unto which these words may now be brought
For true interpretation and kind thought,
Be greeting in our Lord’s name, which is Love.
Of those long hours wherein the stars, above,
Wake and keep watch, the third was almost nought,
When Love was shown me with such terrors fraught
As may not carelessly be spoken of.
He seemed like one who is full of joy, and had
My heart within his hand, and on his arm
My lady, with a mantle round her, slept;
Whom (having wakened her) anon he made
To eat that heart; she ate, as fearing harm.
Then he went out; and as he went, he wept.
Cite this poem
MLA
Dante Alighieri. “Vita Nuova: 'To every heart which the sweet pain doth move'.” Translated by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/dante/0/.
Chicago
Dante Alighieri. “Vita Nuova: 'To every heart which the sweet pain doth move'.” Translated by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/dante/0/.
Read this poem with the Codex →