120. ‘Quelle pietose rime in ch’io m’accorsi’

These kind verses in which you show me

your wit and your courteous affection,

show such concern, to my mind,

that I am forced to reach for my pen

to make you certain that I haven’t felt

the last clutch of him whom I wait for,

as all men do: though without suspecting it

I reached the entrance of his house:

then turned back, since I saw written

above it, that I had not yet reached

the limit prescribed for my life,

though I could not tell you the day or hour.

So now calm your troubled heart,

and find a worthier man to honour so.

Note: Addressed to Antonio di Ferrara who in 1343 wrote a poem lamenting Petrarch’s supposed death.