Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SONNETS OF LAURA: 3. ABSENCE by ELIZABETH COBBOLD

First Line: WHAT BOOTS IT THAT THY STEPS TO DISTANT SHORES
Last Line: VAIN IS THY JOURNEY, AND ITS DISTANCE VAIN.
Subject(s): PETRARCH (1304-1374); FRANCESCO PETRARCA;
What boots it that thy steps to distant shores
In search of quiet or oblivion stray,
While here thy verse enthusiastic pours,
While every morn presents the wonted lay?
'Twas not the beauty of thy manly form,
'Twas not the luster of thy sparkling eye,
That bade my heart to fond affection warm,
That in my tranquil bosom woke the sigh:
No, 'twas that rich and ever varying mind,
With every just and generous feeling fraught,
That ardent love, by sentiment refined,
That spoke in every look, and every thought.
Then while I view these graces in thy strain,
Vain is thy journey, and its distance vain.



Home: PoetryExplorer.net