| Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882). Complete Poetical Works. 1893. | | | | Translations | From the Italian.
Seven Sonnets and a Canzone.
IV. Old Age |
| | | THE COURSE of my long life hath reached at last, | |
| In fragile bark o’er a tempestuous sea, | |
| The common harbor, where must rendered be | |
| Account of all the actions of the past. | |
| The impassioned phantasy, that, vague and vast, | 5 |
| Made art an idol and a king to me, | |
| Was an illusion, and but vanity | |
| Were the desires that lured me and harassed. | |
| The dreams of love, that were so sweet of yore, | |
| What are they now, when two deaths may be mine,— | 10 |
| One sure, and one forecasting its alarms? | |
| Painting and sculpture satisfy no more | |
| The soul now turning to the Love Divine, | |
| That oped, to embrace us, on the cross its arms. | | | | |
|
|
