Love
Sonnet XXVII (In Life): He Compares Her to a Laurel, Which He Supplicates Apollo to Defend
Translated by Rev. Dr. Nott (in Bohn, 1879) · From To Laura in Life
O Phoebus, if that fond desire remains,
Which fired thy breast near the Thessalian wave;
If those bright tresses, which such pleasure gave,
Through lapse of years thy memory not disdains;
From sluggish frosts, from rude inclement rains.
Which last the while thy beams our region leave,
That honour'd sacred tree from peril save,
Whose name of dear accordance waked our pains!
And, by that amorous hope which soothed thy care,
What time expectant thou wert doom'd to sigh
Dispel those vapours which disturb our sky!
So shall we both behold our favorite fair
With wonder, seated on the grassy mead,
And forming with her arms herself a shade.
Cite this poem
MLA
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet XXVII (In Life): He Compares Her to a Laurel, Which He Supplicates Apollo to Defend.” Translated by Rev. Dr. Nott. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/33/.
Chicago
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet XXVII (In Life): He Compares Her to a Laurel, Which He Supplicates Apollo to Defend.” Translated by Rev. Dr. Nott. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/33/.
Read this poem with the Codex →
More by Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)
- Sonnet IV (In Life): He Celebrates the Birthplace of Laura
- Sestina IV (In Life): He Prays God to Guide His Frail Bark to a Safe Port
- Sonnet CXX (In Life): He Implores Mercy or Death
- Sonnet CXC (In Life): Far from His Beloved, Life is Miserable by Night as by Day
- Sonnet XXXI (In Death): He Enumerates and Eulogises the Graces of Laura