Death & Dying
The Thought of Death
Translated by Curtis Hidden Page (1903) · From Songs and Sonnets of Pierre de Ronsard (1903)
Since when her faithful eyes, to which I yield
Utter allegiance, no more bring me light,
Darkness is day to me, and day is night —
Such power upon me doth her absence wield.
My bed is grown a fierce-fought battlefield.
Nothing can please me, all things work me spite.
One thought that puts all other thoughts to flight
Clutches my heart and tears its wounds unhealed.
Beside the Loir, where countless flowers spring,
Sated with sorrows, longings, bootless cries,
I should have set an end to all my pain,
Save that some God doth ever turn mine eyes
Toward that far country of her sojourning,
Whose thought brings comfort to my heart again.
Cite this poem
MLA
Ronsard, Pierre de. “The Thought of Death.” Translated by Curtis Hidden Page. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/ronsard/25/.
Chicago
Ronsard, Pierre de. “The Thought of Death.” Translated by Curtis Hidden Page. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/ronsard/25/.
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