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 |  |
II
Ballata
His Life is by Contraries
By the long sojourning
That I have made with grief,
I am quite changed, you see;—
If I weep, 'tis for glee;
I smile at a sad thing;
Despair is my relief.
That I have made with grief,
I am quite changed, you see;—
If I weep, 'tis for glee;
I smile at a sad thing;
Despair is my relief.
459
Good hap makes me afraid;
Ruin seems rest and shade;
In May the year is old;
With friends I am ill at ease;
Among foes I find peace;
At noonday I feel cold.
Ruin seems rest and shade;
In May the year is old;
With friends I am ill at ease;
Among foes I find peace;
At noonday I feel cold.
The thing that strengthens others, frightens me.
If I am grieved, I sing;
I chafe at comforting;
Ill fortune makes me smile exultingly.
If I am grieved, I sing;
I chafe at comforting;
Ill fortune makes me smile exultingly.
And yet, though all my days are thus,—despite
A shaken mind, and eyes
Which see by contraries,—
I know that without wings is an ill flight.
A shaken mind, and eyes
Which see by contraries,—
I know that without wings is an ill flight.
| The Works of Dante Gabriel Rossetti | |