Love
Sonnet LXXX (In Death): Far from Fearing, He Prays for Death
Translated by Major Macgregor (in Bohn, 1879) · From To Laura in Death
Each day to me seems as a thousand years,
That I my dear and faithful star pursue,
Who guided me on earth, and guides me too
By a sure path to life without its tears.
For in the world, familiar now, appears
No snare to tempt; so rare a light and true
Shines e'en from heaven my secret conscience through,
Of lost time and loved sin the glass it rears.
Not that I need the threats of death to dread,
(Which He who loved us bore with greater pain)
That, firm and constant, I his path should tread:
'Tis but a brief while since in every vein
Of her he enter'd who my fate has been,
Yet troubled not the least her brow serene.
Cite this poem
MLA
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet LXXX (In Death): Far from Fearing, He Prays for Death.” Translated by Major Macgregor. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/352/.
Chicago
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet LXXX (In Death): Far from Fearing, He Prays for Death.” Translated by Major Macgregor. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/352/.
Read this poem with the Codex →
More by Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)
- Sonnet XXVI (In Life): Laura, Who is Ill, Appears to Him in a Dream, and Assures Him _That She Still Lives._
- Madrigale III (In Life): He Allegorically Describes the Origin of His Passion
- Sonnet CXLVI (In Life): He Appeases Her by Humility, and Exhorts a Friend to Do Likewise
- Sonnet CCXIV (In Life): To His Longing to See Her Again is Now Added the Fear of Seeing Her No More
- Canzone IV (In Death): He Recalls Her Many Graces