Gaspara Stampa Heart Poems
- 1. Rime 08
If I, who am an abject, low-born woman,
Can bear within me such lofty fire,
Why should I not possess at least a little
Poetic power to tell it to the world?
... - 2. I Swear To You, Love, By Your Arrows
I swear to you, Love, by your arrows,
And by your powerful holy flame,
I care not if by one Iâ??m maimed,
My heart burned, wasted by the other:
... - 3. Rime 43
Harsh is my fortune, but harsher still is the fate
dealt me by my count: he flees from me,
I follow him; others long for me,
I cannot look at another man's face.
... - 4. Rime 34
Love, do you know why your fair mother gave you
These arrows to your hands, and bound your eyes?
That you may shoot the first wound and break
The heart of this or any faithful lover;
...
