Love
Sonnet LV (In Life): He is Never Weary of Praising the Eyes of Laura
Translated by Major Macgregor (in Bohn, 1879) · From To Laura in Life
The bright eyes which so struck my fenceless side
That they alone which harm'd can heal the smart
Beyond or power of herbs or magic art,
Or stone which oceans from our shores divide,
The chance of other love have so denied
That one sweet thought alone contents my heart,
From following which if ne'er my tongue depart,
Pity the guided though you blame the guide.
These are the bright eyes which, in every land
But most in its own shrine, my heart, adored,
Have spread the triumphs of my conquering lord;
These are the same bright eyes which ever stand
Burning within me, e'en as vestal fires,
In singing which my fancy never tires.
Cite this poem
MLA
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet LV (In Life): He is Never Weary of Praising the Eyes of Laura.” Translated by Major Macgregor. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/74/.
Chicago
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch). “Sonnet LV (In Life): He is Never Weary of Praising the Eyes of Laura.” Translated by Major Macgregor. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/petrarch/74/.
Read this poem with the Codex →
More by Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch)
- Sonnet XXXIII (In Life): When Laura Departs, the Heavens Grow Dark with Storms
- Sonnet XCIV (In Life): Could He but See the House of Laura, His Sighs Might Reach Her More Quickly
- Sonnet CLVII (In Life): The Vision of the Fawn
- Sonnet CCXXV (In Life): He Extols the Virtue of Laura
- 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