The Lilies Seem to Me Black, Poem by Théodore Agrippa D'Aubigné

Poem by Théodore Agrippa D'Aubigné Period 16th century

The lilies seem to me black, the honey bitter beyond measure,
The roses smell foul, the carnations colorless,
The myrtles, the laurels have lost their green,
Sleep is irksome to me and long in your absence.

But were the lilies white, the honey sweet, and I think
That the rose and carnation would not be without honor,
The myrtles, the laurels would be green, from labor,
I would have loved sleep with your presence,

So if far from your eyes, absenting myself with regret,
The body endured alone, the spirit being content:
Let us allow the lily, the honey, roses, carnations to displease,

The myrtles, the laurels from springtime to wither,
Harm my rest, harm my sleep,
And may everything, except you, be contrary to me.

Théodore Agrippa d’Aubigné

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-the-lilies-seem-to-me-black-the-honey-bitter-beyond-measure-theodore-agrippa-d-aubigne/