When I think of that day when I saw her so beautiful

Poem by Pierre De Ronsard Collection Second Book of LovesThemes LovePeriod 16th century

When I think of that day when I saw her so beautiful,
All ablaze with love, honor, and virtue,
The regret, like a mortally sharp arrow,
Pierces my heart with an eternal wound.

While I hoped for her good grace,
Love fought my hope with Death:
Death dressed my hope in a coffin,
From which I hoped for peace in my long quarrel.

Love, you are a fickle and fickle child.
World, you are deceitful, cheating, and lying,
Disappointing everyone’s expectation and courage.

Wretched is he who trusts in Love and in you:
Both of you, like the Sea, have no faith,
One false, the other perjured, and the other a fickle bird.

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-when-i-think-of-that-day-when-i-saw-her-so-beautiful-pierre-de-ronsard/