Love
Sonnet CLIX (In Life): To Love, on Laura Walking Abroad
Translated by J. H. Merivale (in Bohn, 1879) · From To Laura in Life
Here stand we, Love, our glory to behold--
How, passing Nature, lovely, high, and rare!
Behold! what showers of sweetness falling there!
What floods of light by heaven to earth unroll'd!
How shine her robes, in purple, pearls, and gold,
So richly wrought, with skill beyond compare!
How glance her feet!--her beaming eyes how fair
Through the dark cloister which these hills enfold!
The verdant turf, and flowers of thousand hues
Beneath yon oak's old canopy of state,
Spring round her feet to pay their amorous duty.
The heavens, in joyful reverence, cannot choose
But light up all their fires, to celebrate
Her praise, whose presence charms their awful beauty.
Cite this poem
MLA
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet CLIX (In Life): To Love, on Laura Walking Abroad.” Translated by J. H. Merivale. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/191/.
Chicago
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet CLIX (In Life): To Love, on Laura Walking Abroad.” Translated by J. H. Merivale. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/191/.
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More by Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)
- Canzone VIII (In Life): In Praise of Laura's Eyes: the Difficulty of His Theme
- Sonnet CXII (In Life): The Charms of Laura When She First Met His Sight
- Sonnet CLXXXV (In Life): Though Her Eyes Destroy Him, He Cannot Tear Himself Away
- Sonnet XXVI (In Death): Since Her Death, Nothing is Left to Him but Grief
- The Visions of Petrarch