Love
Sonnet I (In Death): On the Announcement of the Death of Laura
anonymous (in Bohn, 1879) · From To Laura in Death
Woe for the 'witching look of that fair face!
The port where ease with dignity combined!
Woe for those accents, that each savage mind
To softness tuned, to noblest thoughts the base!
And the sweet smile, from whence the dart I trace,
Which now leaves death my only hope behind!
Exalted soul, most fit on thrones to 've shined,
But that too late she came this earth to grace!
For you I still must burn, and breathe in you;
For I was ever yours; of you bereft,
Full little now I reck all other care.
With hope and with desire you thrill'd me through,
When last my only joy on earth I left:--
But caught by winds each word was lost in air.
Cite this poem
MLA
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet I (In Death): On the Announcement of the Death of Laura.” Translated by anonymous. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/266/.
Chicago
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet I (In Death): On the Announcement of the Death of Laura.” Translated by anonymous. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/266/.
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More by Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)
- Sonnet XLII (In Life): Such Are His Sufferings That He Envies the Insensibility of Marble
- Canzone XIII (In Life): He Seeks in Vain to Mitigate His Woe
- Sonnet CLXV (In Life): His Heart Lies Tangled in Her Hair
- Sonnet VI (In Death): He Compares Himself to a Besieged City, and Accuses His Own Heart of Treason
- Sonnet LXXIV (In Death): Reflecting That Laura is in Heaven, He Repents His Excessive Grief, and is Consoled