113. ‘Qui dove mezzo son, Sennuccio mio’

Here, where I’m half myself, my Sennuccio,

(if only I were here entire, and pleasing you),

I’ve come escaping the storms and winds

this cruel weather has suddenly sent us.

Here I’m safe: and want to tell you why

I’m not afraid of the lightning as before,

and why I find my burning passion

not lessened at all, much less quenched.

As soon as I came to the regions of love

and saw where the pure, sweet breeze was born

that clears the air, and banishes the thunder,

Love rekindled the fire in my soul,

where she is mistress, extinguishing the fear:

so what would it be to gaze in her eyes?

Note: Sennucchio is ‘half’ of Petrarch himself. Petrarch is near Laura’s birthplace.

‘Villeneuve lez Avignon’ - William Callow (British, 1812 - 1908), The Getty Open Content Program">The Getty Open Content Program