Love

Sonnet II (In Death): He Bewails His Double Loss in the Deaths of Laura, and of Colonna

by Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) 1304–1374

Translated by Rev. Dr. Nott (in Bohn, 1879) · From To Laura in Death

Love

Fall'n that proud Column, fall'n that Laurel tree,
Whose shelter once relieved my wearied mind;
I'm reft of what I ne'er again shall find,
Though ransack'd every shore and every sea:
Double the treasure death has torn from me,
In which life's pride was with its pleasure join'd;
Not eastern gems, nor the world's wealth combined,
Can give it back, nor land, nor royalty.
But, if so fate decrees, what can I more,
Than with unceasing tears these eyes bedew,
Abase my visage, and my lot deplore?
Ah, what is life, so lovely to the view!
How quickly in one little morn is lost
What years have won with labour and with cost!

MLA

Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet II (In Death): He Bewails His Double Loss in the Deaths of Laura, and of Colonna.” Translated by Rev. Dr. Nott. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/268/.

Chicago

Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet II (In Death): He Bewails His Double Loss in the Deaths of Laura, and of Colonna.” Translated by Rev. Dr. Nott. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/268/.

Read this poem with the Codex →

More by Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)