Love
Sonnet XLI (In Life): In Her Presence He Can Neither Speak, Weep, nor Sigh
Translated by Rev. Dr. Nott (in Bohn, 1879) · From To Laura in Life
Although from falsehood I did thee restrain
With all my power, and paid thee honour due,
Ungrateful tongue; yet never did accrue
Honour from thee, but shame, and fierce disdain:
Most art thou cold, when most I want the strain
Thy aid should lend while I for pity sue;
And all thy utterance is imperfect too,
When thou dost speak, and as the dreamer's vain.
Ye too, sad tears, throughout each lingering night
Upon me wait, when I alone would stay;
But, needed by my peace, you take your flight:
And, all so prompt anguish and grief t' impart,
Ye sighs, then slow, and broken breathe your way:
My looks alone truly reveal my heart.
Cite this poem
MLA
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet XLI (In Life): In Her Presence He Can Neither Speak, Weep, nor Sigh.” Translated by Rev. Dr. Nott. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/48/.
Chicago
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet XLI (In Life): In Her Presence He Can Neither Speak, Weep, nor Sigh.” Translated by Rev. Dr. Nott. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/48/.
Read this poem with the Codex →
More by Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)
- Sonnet XLVII (In Life): He Blesses All the Circumstances of His Passion
- Sonnet CIV (In Life): Love's Inconsistency
- Sonnet CLXXIII (In Life): Journeying Along the Rhone to Avignon, Petrarch Bids the River Kiss Laura's Hand, as It Will Arrive at Her Dwelling Before Him
- Sonnet XIII (In Death): Her Form Still Haunts Him in Solitude
- Sonnet LXXXI (In Death): Since Her Death He Has Ceased to Live