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).
Quanto piú m’avicino al giorno extremo
che l’umana miseria suol far breve,
piú veggio il tempo andar veloce et leve,
e ‘l mio di lui sperar fallace et scemo.
I’ dico a’ miei pensier’: Non molto andremo
d’amor parlando omai, ché ‘l duro et greve
terreno incarco come frescha neve
si va struggendo; onde noi pace avremo:
perché co llui cadrà quella speranza
che ne fe’ vaneggiar sí lungamente,
e ‘l riso e ‘l pianto, et la paura et l’ira;
sí vedrem chiaro poi come sovente
per le cose dubbiose altri s’avanza,
et come spesso indarno si sospira.
The closer I come to that last day
that puts an end to human misery
the more swiftly and lightly I see time go by,
and my hopes of it deceive and fade.
I say in thought: ‘No time is left now
to speak of love, for this hard and heavy
earthly burden has begun to melt
like fresh snow: so we’ll find peace:
since with the body hope too will vanish,
that made us rave for so many years,
with laughter and tears, fear and anger:
for so we see how it often happens
that through uncertain things we advance,
and often we sigh to no real purpose.’