ON REVISITING CINTRA AFTER THE DEATH OF CATARINA

by: Luis Vas de Camões (1524-1580)

PPAREL of green woods and meadows gay;

Clear and fresh waters innocent of stain,

Wherein the field and grove are found again,

As from high rocks ye take your downward way;

And shaggy peaks, and ordered disarray

Of crags abrupt, know that ye strive in vain,

Till grief consent, to soothe the eye of pain,

Shown the same scene that Pleasure did survey.

Nor as erst seen am I beheld by you,

Rejoiced no more by fields of pleasant green,

Or lively runnels laughing as they dart;

Sown be these fields with seed of ruth and rue,

And wet with brine of welling tears, till seen

Sere with the herb that suits the broken heart.

--Translated by Richard Garnett

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