Poem 2

Sonnet LXII by Petrarch

 Padre del ciel; dopo i perduti giorni

Father in heaven, lo! these wasted days
And all these nights in vain imaginings spent,
My thoughts enkindled to one maddening blaze,
On one alluring presence all intent!
May't please Thee now that by Thy light I bend
My life to better things--some worthier aim--
And that my foe his snares in vain extend,
And at his bootless wiles be filled with shame.
'Tis now, O Lord, the eleventh circling year
Since I am fettered by this pitiless chain
Which to the weak is ever most severe;
Have mercy on my undeserved pain!
Guide Thou my wandering thoughts some better way,
Remind them Thou wast on the cross to-day!


I've chosen this sonnet because love it treated from a different point of view. In Shakespeare's sonnet love is painfull and even for Petrarchan one but in the last he feels a sinner because the passion makes him go away from God. For him real love is related to speritual things not mundane.
In the original language both the quartines same as the last tercines have a selection of words with perfect rhyme and rhythm how painfull the lover is through the emotions he proves. It's a pray to God for helping him to go back to the right way.

This picture represents the first time Petrarch met Laura.