Nature
Imitation
Translated by Frederick Townsend (1887) · From The Poems of Giacomo Leopardi, trans. Frederick Townsend (1887)
Wandering from the parent bough,
Little, trembling leaf,
Whither goest thou?
“From the beech, where I was born,
By the north wind was I torn.
Him I follow in his flight,
Over mountain, over vale,
From the forest to the plain,
Up the hill, and down again.
With him ever on the way:
More than that, I cannot say.
Where I go, must all things go,
Gentle, simple, high and low:
Leaves of laurel, leaves of rose;
Whither, heaven only knows!”
Cite this poem
MLA
Leopardi, Giacomo. “Imitation.” Translated by Frederick Townsend. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/leopardi/60/.
Chicago
Leopardi, Giacomo. “Imitation.” Translated by Frederick Townsend. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/leopardi/60/.
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