The Works of Dante Gabriel Rossetti Edited with Preface and Notes by William M. Rossetti: Revised and Enlarged Edition |
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The Works of Dante Gabriel Rossetti | ||
I
Forese Donati
408
I
Dante Alighieri to Forese Donati
He taunts Forese, by the nickname of Bicci
O Bicci, pretty son of who knows whomUnless thy mother Lady Tessa tell,—
Thy gullet is already crammed too well,
Yet others' food thou needs must now consume.
Lo! he that wears a purse makes ample room
When thou goest by in any public place,
Saying, “This fellow with the branded face
Is thief apparent from his mother's womb.”
And I know one who's fain to keep his bed
Lest thou shouldst filch it, at whose birth he stood
Like Joseph when the world its Christmas saw.
Of Bicci and his brothers it is said
That with the heat of misbegotten blood
Among their wives they are nice brothers-in-law.
II
Forese Donati to Dante Alighieri
He taunts Dante ironically for not avenging Geri Alighieri
Right well I know thou'rt Alighieri's son;Nay, that revenge alone might warrant it,
Which thou didst take, so clever and complete,
For thy great-uncle who awhile agone
Paid scores in full. Why, if thou hadst hewn one
In bits for it, 'twere early still for peace!
But then thy head's so heaped with things like these
That they would weigh two sumpter-horses down.
Thou hast taught us a fair fashion, sooth to say,—
That whoso lays a stick well to thy back,
Thy comrade and thy brother he shall be.
As for their names who've shown thee this good play,
I'll tell thee, so thou'lt tell me all the lack
Thou hast of help, that I may stand by thee.
409
III
Dante Alighieri to Forese Donati
He taunts him concerning his Wife
To hear the unlucky wife of Bicci cough,(Bicci,—Forese as he's called, you know,—)
You'd fancy she had wintered, sure enough,
Where icebergs rear themselves in constant snow:
And Lord! if in mid-August it is so,
How in the frozen months must she come off?
To wear her socks abed avails not,—no,
Nor quilting from Cortona, warm and tough.
Her cough, her cold, and all her other ills,
Do not afflict her through the rheum of age,
But through some want within her nest, poor spouse!
This grief, with other griefs, her mother feels,
Who says, “Without much trouble, I'll engage,
She might have married in Count Guido's house!”
IV
Forese Donati to Dante Alighieri
He taunts him concerning the unavenged Spirit of Geri Alighieri
The other night I had a dreadful coughBecause I'd got no bed-clothes over me;
And so, when the day broke, I hurried off
To seek some gain whatever it might be.
And such luck as I had I tell you of.
For lo! no jewels hidden in a tree
I find, nor buried gold, nor suchlike stuff,
But Alighieri among the graves I see,
Bound by some spell, I know not at whose 'hest,—
At Solomon's, or what sage's who shall say?
Therefore I crossed myself towards the east;
And he cried out: “For Dante's love I pray
Thou loose me!” But I knew not in the least
How this were done, so turned and went my way.
The Works of Dante Gabriel Rossetti | ||