Love
Sonnet CXCVIII (In Life): He No Longer Finds Relief in Solitude
Translated by Miss Wollaston (in Bohn, 1879) · From To Laura in Life
Thou little chamber'd haven to the woes
Whose daily tempest overwhelms my soul!
From shame, I in Heaven's light my grief control;
Thou art its fountain, which each night o'erflows.
My couch! that oft hath woo'd me to repose,
'Mid sorrows vast--Love's iv'ried hand hath stole
Griefs turgid stream, which o'er thee it doth roll,
That hand which good on all but me bestows.
Not only quiet and sweet rest I fly,
But from myself and thought, whose vain pursuit
On pinion'd fancy doth my soul transport:
The multitude I did so long defy,
Now as my hope and refuge I salute,
So much I tremble solitude to court.
Cite this poem
MLA
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet CXCVIII (In Life): He No Longer Finds Relief in Solitude.” Translated by Miss Wollaston. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/233/.
Chicago
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet CXCVIII (In Life): He No Longer Finds Relief in Solitude.” Translated by Miss Wollaston. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/233/.
Read this poem with the Codex →
More by Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)
- Sonnet XL (In Life): His Heart is All in Flames, but His Tongue is Mute, in Her Presence
- Sonnet XCVII (In Life): E'en in Our Ashes Live Our Wonted Fires
- Sonnet CLXII (In Life): His Wounds Can Be Healed Only by Pity or Death
- Sonnet III (In Death): On the Death of Another Lady
- Sonnet LXXI (In Death): He Describes the Apparition of Laura