| Andrew Macphail, comp. The Book of Sorrow. 1916. | | | XXVI. Melancholy
Soleasi nel mio cor | | By Petrarch (Francisco Petrarca) (1304–1374) |
| | Translated by Thomas Wentworth Higginson
SHE ruled in beauty o’er this heart of mine, | |
| A noble lady in a humble home, | |
| And now her time for heavenly bliss has come, | |
| ’Tis I am mortal proved, and she divine. | |
| The soul that all its blessings must resign, | 5 |
| And love whose light no more on earth finds room, | |
| Might rend the rocks with pity for their doom, | |
| Yet none their sorrows can in words enshrine; | |
| They weep within my heart; and ears are deaf | |
| Save mine alone, and I am crushed with care, | 10 |
| And naught remains to me save mournful breath. | |
| Assuredly but dust and shade we are, | |
| Assuredly desire is blind and brief, | |
| Assuredly its hope but ends in death. | | | | |
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