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Duped by Love’s tricks
I was walking one day
Before the door of my cruel one,
And so rebuffed was I,
That in swearing I promised
To flee from her house.
It suffices to have been
Nine or ten years held
In Love’s cords, I said,
I must unwrap myself,
Or else cut them all
So that I may be free.
And to do this, I took
A dagger, which I placed
Well deep into the leash:
And her knot I would have broken
If I had not then noticed
Before the door a Goddess.
But as soon as I had
Seen her back adorned with wings,
Her robe and her countenance,
And her skirt tucked up,
Immediately I thought
That it was Lady Hope.
I approach, she took me
By the hand, then she said to me:
HOPE
Where are you going, poor poet?
You will have with time
All the good that you intend,
And more than you wish for.
Your mistress had reason
To hold for some season
Rigor at your long pain
She did it on purpose,
To better sound afterward
Your heart, and your certain faith.
But now that she knows well
By sure proof how much
Your painful friendship endures;
She herself will pray you,
And benign, will heal
The evil that your heart endures.
Then I answered her:
RONSARD
What is it that you tell me?
Do you want to fool my life again
After seeing me escaped
From her who deceived me,
Do you want me to trust in it?
Ten years have I followed her
And for her I am
Like a dead person
But instead of bending
Her pride, for all reward
I still dawdle at her door.
No no, it is better to die
All at once, than to perish
In languor through so many years:
Now I want with my own hand
To kill myself, to see suddenly
All my sorrows ended.
HOPE
Ah, what a good sight it would be
To fall into despair,
When Hope guides you!
Leave, leave your emotion,
Leave your dagger and follow me
Up there to your murderess.
Saying these words I followed
Her steps, until I found myself
In Cassandre’s chamber:
HOPE SPEAKS TO CASSANDRE
Here, said Hope, here
I come expressly
To return your fugitive to you.
He has served you long,
It is reason that gently
You take away his anguish:
You must treat him well,
Fearing great Jupiter,
Since he is one of your guests.
With that she flew away,
And left me all alone there
In your chamber, my love.
RONSARD SPEAKS TO CASSANDRE
There, then, out of friendship,
There, Cassandre, take pity
On your guest who begs you.
If I have some evil with you,
Jupiter the just King
Will hurl his storm at you:
For he guards those who are
Guests, and those who make
In misery a request.
Pierre de Ronsard
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-ode-in-dialogue-hope-and-ronsard-pierre-de-ronsard/