Death & Dying

Lament III

by Jan Kochanowski 1530-1584

Translated by Dorothea Prall (1920) · From Treny (1580)

Death & Dying

So, thou hast scorned me, my delight and heir;
Thy father's halls, then, were not broad and fair
Enough for thee to dwell here longer, sweet.
True, there was nothing, nothing in them meet
For thy swift-budding reason, that foretold
Virtues the future years would yet unfold.
Thy words, thy archness, every turn and bow--
How sick at heart without them am I now!
Nay, little comfort, never more shall I
Behold thee and thy darling drollery.
What may I do but only follow on
Along the path where earlier thou hast gone.
And at its end do thou, with all thy charms,
Cast round thy father's neck thy tender arms.

MLA

Kochanowski, Jan. “Lament III.” Translated by Dorothea Prall. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/kochanowski/3/.

Chicago

Kochanowski, Jan. “Lament III.” Translated by Dorothea Prall. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/kochanowski/3/.

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