Joachim du Bellay (1552–1560)

Translated by Austin Dobson
Regrets

HAPPY the man, like wise Ulysses tried,

Or him of yore that gat the Fleece of Gold,

Who comes at last, from travels manifold,

Among his kith and kindred to abide!

When shall I see from my small hamlet-side

Once more the blue and curling smoke unrolled?

When the poor boundaries of my house behold,—

Poor, but to me as any province wide?

Ah, more than these imperious piles of Rome

Smile the low portals of my boyhood’s home!

More than their marble must its slate-roof be!

More than the Tiber’s flood my Loire is still!

More than the Palatine my native hill,

And the soft air of Anjou than the sea!