 | Dartmouth lyrics by Richard Hovey |  |
67
VITA NUOVA
(Sonnetta doppa)
Dante! when first I read the history,Enwrit herein by thee,
Of all that infinite love that thou didst have
For Bice from the day when thou didst see
First her sweet symmetry
And thy child heart was taken for her slave,
I was as one who sails across a sea,
Elate of spirit and free
As the glad gulls that laugh along the wave,
And hears the sirens singing fitfully
A mystic melody,
Luring him to a melancholy grave.
With sweetest music, tender Florentine!
Thou didst allure me through this little grove
And in the midst thereof
Showed me a place where cypress trees did twine
Their sombre ombrage; yet I saw above
An opening in the trees where through did shine
A ray of light divine,
Quivering with pulses of eternal love.
| Dartmouth lyrics by Richard Hovey | |