Samuel Waddington, comp. The Sonnets of Europe. 1888. | | Two Flowers I Love | By Pierre de Ronsard (15241585) |
| Translated by Henry Francis Cary Jaime la Fleur TWO flowers I love, the March-flower 1 and the rose, | |
The lovely rose that is to Venus dear, | |
The March-flower that of her the name doth bear, | |
Who will not leave my spirit in repose: | |
Three birds I love; one, moist with May-dew, goes | 5 |
To dry his feathers in the sunshine clear; | |
One for his mate laments throughout the year, | |
And for his child the other wails his woes: | |
And Bourgueils pine I love, where Venus hung, | |
For a proud trophy on the darksome bough, | 10 |
Neer since released, my youthful liberty: | |
And Phbus tree love I, the laurel tree, | |
Of whose fair leaves, my mistress, when I sung, | |
Bound with her locks a garland for my brow. | |
| Note 1. The violet, which the poet supposes to bear the name of his Marie. [back] | |
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