Love

Sonnet CCXVI (In Life): Hearing No Tidings of Her, He Begins to Despair

by Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) 1304–1374

Translated by Dr. Morehead (in Bohn, 1879) · From To Laura in Life

Love

Still do I wait to hear, in vain still wait,
Of that sweet enemy I love so well:
What now to think or say I cannot tell,
'Twixt hope and fear my feelings fluctuate:
The beautiful are still the marks of fate;
And sure her worth and beauty most excel:
What if her God have call'd her hence, to dwell
Where virtue finds a more congenial state?
If so, she will illuminate that sphere
Even as a sun: but I--'tis done with me!
I then am nothing, have no business here!
O cruel absence! why not let me see
The worst? my little tale is told, I fear,
My scene is closed ere it accomplish'd be.

MLA

Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet CCXVI (In Life): Hearing No Tidings of Her, He Begins to Despair.” Translated by Dr. Morehead. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/253/.

Chicago

Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet CCXVI (In Life): Hearing No Tidings of Her, He Begins to Despair.” Translated by Dr. Morehead. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/253/.

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