by Michelangelo Buonarroti
To Tommaso De' Cavalieri
Veggio co' bei vostri occhi.
With your fair eyes a charming light I see,
For which my own blind eyes would peer in vain;
Stayed by your feet, the burden I sustain
Which my lame feet find all too strong for me;
Wingless upon your pinions forth I fly;
Heavenward your spirit stirreth me to strain;
E'en as you will, I blush and blanch again,
Freeze in the sun, burn 'neath a frosty sky.
Your will includes and is the lord of mine;
Life to my thoughts within your heart is given;
My words begin to breathe upon your breath:
Like to the moon am I, that cannot shine
Alone; for lo! our eyes see nought in heaven
Save what the living sun illumineth.
This poem is in the public domain. "Love the Light-Giver" was published in The Sonnets of Michael Angelo Buonarroti (T. B. Mosher, 1897), translated by John Addington Symonds.
Michelangelo (1475-1564)
Michelangelo Buonarroti was born on March 6, 1475, in Caprese, Italy. One of the most famous artists of the Italian Renaissance, he wrote close to 75 finished sonnets and about 95 madrigals, which were later compiled into translated collections. He died on February 18, 1564, in Rome, Italy.
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