A Daily Countdown to 700 Years with the “colpi d’Amor”
“Benedetto sia ‘l giorno, et ‘l mese, et l’anno, / et la stagione, e’l tempo, et l’ora, e ‘l punto…” — Rvf 61
“Blessed be the day, and the month, and the year, and the season, and the time, and the hour, and the moment…”(Kline).
Cosí potess’io ben chiuder in versi
i miei pensier’, come nel cor gli chiudo,
ch’animo al mondo non fu mai sí crudo
ch’i’ non facessi per pietà dolersi.
Ma voi, occhi beati, ond’io soffersi
quel colpo, ove non valse elmo né scudo,
di for et dentro mi vedete ignudo,
benché ‘n lamenti il duol non si riversi.
Poi che vostro vedere in me risplende,
come raggio di sol traluce in vetro,
basti dunque il desio senza ch’io dica.
Lasso, non a Maria, non nocque a Pietro
la fede, ch’a me sol tanto è nemica;
et so ch’altri che voi nessun m’intende.
If I could imprison in my verses
the thoughts imprisoned in my heart,
there’s no spirit in this world so cruel
it would not be saddened out of pity.
But you, eyes of beauty, from which I felt
the blow, not wearing a helmet or a shield,
you see me naked, inside and out,
though my grief is not poured out in tears.
Since your vision shines in me,
like a ray of sunlight through glass,
my desire is enough, without my speaking.
Alas, faith never harmed Mary or Peter,
faith, that’s an enemy to me alone:
as I know none but you could understand.