Love
Sonnet XX (In Death): Vaucluse Has Become to Him a Scene of Pain
Translated by Mrs. Wrottesley (in Bohn, 1879) · From To Laura in Death
To every sound, save sighs, this air is mute,
When from rude rocks, I view the smiling land
Where she was born, who held my life in hand
From its first bud till blossoms turn'd to fruit:
To heaven she's gone, and I'm left destitute
To mourn her loss, and cast around in pain
These wearied eyes, which, seeking her in vain
Where'er they turn, o'erflow with grief acute;
There's not a root or stone amongst these hills,
Nor branch nor verdant leaf 'midst these soft glades,
Nor in the valley flowery herbage grows,
Nor liquid drop the sparkling fount distils,
Nor savage beast that shelters in these shades,
But knows how sharp my grief--how deep my woes.
Cite this poem
MLA
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet XX (In Death): Vaucluse Has Become to Him a Scene of Pain.” Translated by Mrs. Wrottesley. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/287/.
Chicago
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet XX (In Death): Vaucluse Has Become to Him a Scene of Pain.” Translated by Mrs. Wrottesley. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/287/.
Read this poem with the Codex →
More by Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)
- Sonnet XXXII (In Life): He Asks from a Friend the Loan of the Works of St. Augustin
- Sonnet XC (In Life): The Mere Sight of Vaucluse Makes Him Forget All the Perils of His Journey
- Sonnet CLIII (In Life): The Most Famous Poets of Antiquity Would Have Sung Her Only, Had They Seen Her
- Sonnet CCXXII (In Life): The Beauty of Laura is Peerless
- Sonnet LXIII (In Death): She is So Fixed in His Heart That at Times He Believes Her Still Alive, and is Forced to Recall the Date of Her Death