O You for Whom by Day and Night I Sigh

Poem by Jean-Antoine De Baïf Collection Loves of MélinePeriod 16th century

O You for whom by day and night I sigh,
Whose proud worth, despite my will,
Makes me languish in a beautiful misfortune,
Shall I never reach the summit to which I aspire?

If you care nothing for my ills that worsen,
If you care nothing to extinguish my sorrow,
At least permit that from this heat
By a kiss, however slight, I may breathe.

Thus I spoke, and you said to me, Lover,
Do you not know that a kiss does not appease
The fire of love, but rather inflames it more?

Fear lest a kiss enflame double embers.
Ha, I said then, would Love the little god
Have found a place within your breast?

Jean-Antoine de Baïf

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

Text published on Poésies 123: https://www.poesies123.com/en/poem-o-you-for-whom-by-day-and-night-i-sigh-jean-antoine-de-baif/