Love
Sonnet CCXVI (In Life): Hearing No Tidings of Her, He Begins to Despair
Translated by Dr. Morehead (in Bohn, 1879) · From To Laura in Life
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.
Cite this poem
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/.
Read this poem with the Codex →
More by Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)
- Sonnet XX (In Life): To Stramazzo of Perugia, Who Invited Him to Write Poetry
- Sonnet LXXVI (In Life): He Deplores His Lost Liberty and the Unhappiness of His Present State
- Sonnet CXXXVII (In Life): Love Unmans His Resolution
- Sonnet CCV (In Life): He Congratulates His Heart on Its Remaining with Her
- Sonnet LI (In Death): His Passion Finds Its Only Consolation in Contemplating Her in Heaven