Sonnet XII
SONNET XII.
Mai non fu' in parte ove sì chiar' vedessi.
VAUCLUSE.
Nowhere before could I so well have seenHer whom my soul most craves since lost to view;Nowhere in so great freedom could have beenBreathing my amorous lays 'neath skies so blue;Never with depths of shade so calm and greenA valley found for lover's sigh more true;[Pg 245]Methinks a spot so lovely and sereneLove not in Cyprus nor in Gnidos knew.All breathes one spell, all prompts and prays that ILike them should love—the clear sky, the calm hour,Winds, waters, birds, the green bough, the gay flower—But thou, beloved, who call'st me from on high,By the sad memory of thine early fate,Pray that I hold the world and these sweet snares in hate. Macgregor. Never till now so clearly have I seenHer whom my eyes desire, my soul still views;Never enjoy'd a freedom thus serene;Ne'er thus to heaven breathed my enamour'd muse,As in this vale sequester'd, darkly green;Where my soothed heart its pensive thought pursues,And nought intrusively may intervene,And all my sweetly-tender sighs renews.To Love and meditation, faithful shade,Receive the breathings of my grateful breast!Love not in Cyprus found so sweet a nestAs this, by pine and arching laurel made!The birds, breeze, water, branches, whisper love;Herb, flower, and verdant path the lay symphonious move.
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