Francesco Petrarch Poems

That wandering paleness which conceals
the sweet smile in a loving mist,
offered itself to my heart with such majesty
...

Clear, sweet fresh water
where she, the only one who seemed
woman to me, rested her beautiful limbs:
...

Love leads me on, from thought to thought,
from mountain to mountain, since every path blazed
proves opposed to the tranquil life.
...

What do I feel if this is not love?
But if it is love, God, what thing is this?
If good, why this effect: bitter, mortal?
...

Through the midst of inhospitable, wild woods,
where men at arms go at great risk,
I go safely, since nothing can frighten me
...

A pure white hind appeared to me
with two gold horns, on green grass,
between two streams, in a laurel's shade,
...

O beautiful hand that clutches my heart
shutting my life in so small a space,
hand on which Nature and Heaven lavished
...

O little room that was once a refuge
from those grave diurnal storms of mine,
you are a fountain now of nocturnal tears
...

Who wishes to see what Nature can achieve
among us, and Heaven, come and gaze at her,
who is the only sun, not only to my eyes,
...

Ah me, the beautiful face, ah me, the gentle look,
ah me, the graceful noble manner of her:
ah me, the speech that made every harsh
...