| Samuel Waddington, comp. The Sonnets of Europe. 1888. | | | | The Garland and the Girdle | | By Michelangelo (1475–1564) |
| | Translated by John Addington Symonds
WHAT joy hath yon glad wreath of flowers that is | |
| Around her golden hair so deftly twined, | |
| Each blossom pressing forward from behind, | |
| As though to be the first her brows to kiss! | |
| The livelong day her dress hath perfect bliss, | 5 |
| That now reveals her breast, now seems to bind: | |
| And that fair woven net of gold refined | |
| Rests on her cheek and throat in happiness! | |
| Yet still more blissful seems to me the band | |
| Gilt at the tips, so sweetly doth it ring | 10 |
| And clasp the bosom that it serves to lace: | |
| Yea, and the belt, to such as understand, | |
| Bound round her waist, saith: Here I’d ever cling.— | |
| What would my arms do in that girdle’s place? | | | | |
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