291: Zappa

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english translation

291: Zappa

When Aurora comes down out of the sky,
with a blushing complexion and a golden mane,
Love hits me, so that I drain of color, sigh,
and say, “There—dawn and Laura now are the same.

“You’re lucky, Tithonus, to know the time
of recovering your dear treasure well,
but what am I supposed to do now that I’m
obliged to die to see my sweet laurel?

“Your separations cause no difficulty:
at least she isn’t put off by white hair
and shows up after her excursions nightly.

“But the one who took my thoughts into the air
with her darkened my days while evenings became
sad, and left me nothing except her name.”

original Italian poem

291

Quand’io veggio dal ciel scender l’Aurora
co la fronte di rose et co’ crin’ d’oro,
Amor m’assale, ond’io mi discoloro,
et dico sospirando: Ivi è Laura ora.

O felice Titon, tu sai ben l’ora
da ricovrare il tuo caro tesoro:
ma io che debbo far del dolce alloro?
che se ’l vo’ riveder, conven ch’io mora.

I vostri dipartir’ non son sí duri,
ch’almen di notte suol tornar colei
che non â schifo le tue bianche chiome:

le mie notti fa triste, e i giorni oscuri,
quella che n’à portato i penser’ miei,
Né di sè m’à lasciato altro che ’l nome.