Death & Dying
Kisses and Death
Translated by Curtis Hidden Page (1903) · From Songs and Sonnets of Pierre de Ronsard (1903)
My mistress, kiss me, clasp me, hold me close!
Thy breath on my breath, warm me till I live!
A thousand kisses take, a thousand give!
Love loves the infinite, nor limit knows.
Kiss me, and kiss me yet again! Life goes,
Stealing, fair mouth, thy beauty fugitive,
And leaving lips no longer sensitive,
Lips wan and hueless, nothing like to those.
Ah, while we live, kiss me with lips of rose,
And kissing, stammer words that half unclose
These clasped close-clinging lips, words broken and few.
Die in my arms, Death shall our shades unite.
Or wake to life, and I will live anew.
Life's day — so brief, alas! — excels the night.
Cite this poem
MLA
Ronsard, Pierre de. “Kisses and Death.” Translated by Curtis Hidden Page. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/ronsard/46/.
Chicago
Ronsard, Pierre de. “Kisses and Death.” Translated by Curtis Hidden Page. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/ronsard/46/.
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