Guido Cavalcanti, (1250-1300) who inspired our poem
When Beauty, With Her Eyes
When Beauty, with her eyes,
Looked into my eyes,
I knew eyes were the source of all my sorrow.
The heart lives in darkness and can never see,
So my heart weeps bitterly,
For he cannot see you, lady,
While my eyes cry, “you must look on her tomorrow!”
But a man with a rebel heart
Cannot go in civility,
Cannot greet a lady with dignity;
So my dreams to be with you have fallen apart,
And even my eyes which loved your eyes cannot see.
David said,
February 21, 2012 at 6:26 pm
Tom,
Alas we formal versifiers of high themes will not be among those poets whom Rita Dove is “following with great hope”.
David