Zophiel. Stanzas

To meet a friendship such as mine
Such feelings must thy heart refine
As seldom mortal mind gives birth,
'Tis love, without a stain of earth,
                                        Fratello del mio cor.

Tho' friendship be its earthly name
All pure, from highest heaven, it came
'Tis never felt for more than one,
And scorns to dwell with Venus' son
                                        Fratello del mio cor.

Him let it view not, or it flies
Like tender hues of morning-skies,
Or morn's sweet flower, of purple glow.
When sunny beams too ardent grow
                                        Fratello del mio cor.

It's food is looks, its nectar, sighs,
Its couch the lip, its throne the eyes
The soul its breath; and so possest,
Heaven's raptures reign in mortal breast.
                                        Fratello del mio cor.

Maria Gowen Brooks

Maria Gowen Brooks was an American poet known for her romantic and lyrical poetry. Born in 1794, she achieved fame with the publication of her major work, 'Zóphiël, or The Bride of Seven,' which captivated both American and British audiences. Brooks' poetry often explored themes of love, beauty, and spirituality, earning her a unique place in 19th-century American literature. She passed away in 1845, leaving behind a legacy celebrated by poets and literary critics alike.

Maria Gowen Brooks

Zophiel. (Invocation)

Maria Gowen Brooks, Simple Poetry

Zophiel. Ode

Maria Gowen Brooks, Simple Poetry

On The Death Of A Lady.

Maria Gowen Brooks, Simple Poetry

English

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A Dialogue In Purgatory

        Poi disse un altro.... "Io son Buonconte:
        Giovanna o altri non ha di me cura;
        Per ch' io vo tra costor con bassa fronte."

        Seguito il terzo spirito al secondo,
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                    PURGATORIO, CANTO V.


        I

        BUONCONTE

        Sister, the sun has ceased to shine;
        By companies of twain and trine
        Stars gather; from the sea
        The moon comes momently.

        On all the roads that ring our hill
        The sighing and the hymns are still:
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Zophiel. (Invocation)

Thou with the dark blue eye upturned to heaven,
And cheek now pale, now warm with radiant glow,
                    Daughter of God,--most dear,--
                    Come with thy quivering tear,
And tresses wild, and robes of loosened flow,--
To thy lone votaress let one look be given!

Come Poesy! nor like some just-formed maid,
With heart as yet unswoln by bliss or woe;--
                    But of such age be seen
                    As Egypt's glowing queen,
When her brave Roman learned to love her so
That death and loss of fame, were, by a smile, repaid.

Or as thy Sappho, when too fierce assailed
By stern ingratitude her tender breast:--
                    Her love by scorn repaid
                    Her friendship true betrayed,
Sick of the...

Maria Gowen Brooks

To Laura In Death. Sonnet XLII.

Zefiro torna, e 'l bel tempo rimena.

RETURNING SPRING BRINGS TO HIM ONLY INCREASE OF GRIEF.


    Zephyr returns; and in his jocund train
Brings verdure, flowers, and days serenely clear;
Brings Progne's twitter, Philomel's lorn strain,
With every bloom that paints the vernal year;
Cloudless the skies, and smiling every plain;
With joyance flush'd, Jove views his daughter dear;
Love's genial power pervades earth, air, and main;
All beings join'd in fond accord appear.
But nought to me returns save sorrowing sighs,
Forced from my inmost heart by her who bore
Those keys which govern'd it unto the skies:
The blossom'd meads, the choristers of air,
Sweet courteous damsels can delight no more;
Each face looks savage, and each prospect drear.
...

Francesco Petrarca

In A Gondola

He sings.
I send my heart up to thee, all my heart
In this my singing.
For the stars help me, and the sea bears part;
The very night is clinging
Closer to Venice streets to leave one space
Above me, whence thy face
May light my joyous heart to thee its dwelling-place.

She speaks.
Say after me, and try to say
My very words, as if each word
Came from you of your own accord,
In your own voice, in your own way:
This womans heart and soul and brain
Are mine as much as this gold chain
She bids me wear; which (say again)
I choose to make by cherishing
A precious thing, or choose to fling
Over the boat-side, ring by ring.
And yet once more say . . . no word more!
Since words are only words. Give oer!
Unless you c...

Robert Browning

Canzone IX.

Gentil mia donna, i' veggio.

IN PRAISE OF LAURA'S EYES: THEY LEAD HIM TO CONTEMPLATE THE PATH OF LIFE.


    Lady, in your bright eyes
Soft glancing round, I mark a holy light,
Pointing the arduous way that heavenward lies;
And to my practised sight,
From thence, where Love enthroned, asserts his might,
Visibly, palpably, the soul beams forth.
This is the beacon guides to deeds of worth,
And urges me to seek the glorious goal;
This bids me leave behind the vulgar throng,
Nor can the human tongue
Tell how those orbs divine o'er all my soul
Exert their sweet control,
Both when hoar winter's frosts around are flung,
And when the year puts on his youth again,
Jocund, as when this bosom first knew pain.

Oh! if in that high sphere,<...

Francesco Petrarca

Canzone XII.

Una donna più bella assai che 'l sole.

GLORY AND VIRTUE.


    A lady, lovelier, brighter than the sun,
Like him superior o'er all time and space,
Of rare resistless grace,
Me to her train in early life had won:
She, from that hour, in act, and word and thought,
--For still the world thus covets what is rare--
In many ways though brought
Before my search, was still the same coy fair:
For her alone my plans, from what they were,
Grew changed, since nearer subject to her eyes;
Her love alone could spur
My young ambition to each hard emprize:
So, if in long-wish'd port I e'er arrive,
I hope, for aye through her,
When others deem me dead, in honour to survive.

Full of first hope, burning with youthful love,
She, at her will, ...

Francesco Petrarca