Is It Then True That My Enchanted Sight

Poem by Théodore Agrippa D'Aubigné Period 16th century

Is it then true that my enchanted sight
Must kindle in my breast the murderous desire
That makes me hate my life, and for it choose
The easy pillaging of my subdued strength!

Can I see without weeping my reason overcome,
Let my captive sense perish by the flame?
Can I see the beauty that compels me to die
Laugh in its whiteness at me blood-stained?

I curse the proudness, the beauties and the heavens,
I curse my will, my desire and my eyes,
I would praise the beauties, heavens and perseverance,

If her beauty would animate her pity,
If the heavens inclined toward me her friendship,
The harsh firmness, if it were constancy.

Théodore Agrippa d’Aubigné

Translation generated by Poésies 123 with assistance from the deepseek-chat artificial-intelligence model.

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