Love
Sonnet XVIII (In Death): She Returns in Pity to Comfort Him with Her Advice
Translated by Major Macgregor (in Bohn, 1879) · From To Laura in Death
If that soft breath of sighs, which, from above,
I hear of her so long my lady here,
Who, now in heaven, yet seems, as of our sphere,
To breathe, and move, to feel, and live, and love,
I could but paint, my passionate verse should move
Warmest desires; so jealous, yet so dear
O'er me she bends and breathes, without a fear,
That on the way I tire, or turn, or rove.
She points the path on high: and I who know
Her chaste anxiety and earnest prayer,
In whispers sweet, affectionate, and low,
Train, at her will, my acts and wishes there:
And find such sweetness in her words alone
As with their power should melt the hardest stone.
Cite this poem
MLA
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet XVIII (In Death): She Returns in Pity to Comfort Him with Her Advice.” Translated by Major Macgregor. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/285/.
Chicago
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet XVIII (In Death): She Returns in Pity to Comfort Him with Her Advice.” Translated by Major Macgregor. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/285/.
Read this poem with the Codex →
More by Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)
- Sonnet XII (In Life): The Beauty of Laura Leads Him to the Contemplation of the Supreme Good
- Sonnet LXV (In Life): Better is It to Die Happy Than to Live in Pain
- Sonnet CXXVII (In Life): Her Every Action is Divine
- Sonnet CXCVII (In Life): He Rejoices at Participating in Her Sufferings
- Sonnet XLI (In Death): It is Impossible for Him to Describe Her Excellences