ON THE DEATH OF CATARINA DE ATTAYDA

by: Luis Vas de Camões (1524-1580)

HOSE charming eyes within whose starry sphere
Love whilom sat, and smiled the hours away,--
Those braids of light, that shamed the beams of day,--
That hand benignant, and that heart sincere,--
Those virgin cheeks, which did so late appear
Like snow-banks scattered with the blooms of May,
Turned to a little cold and worthless clay,
Are gone, forever gone, and perished here,--
But not unbathed by Memory's warmest tear!
Death thou hast torn, in one unpitying hour,
That fragrant plant, to which, while scarce a flower,
The mellower fruitage of its prime was given;
Love saw the deed, -- and as he lingered near
Sighed o'er the ruin, and returned to heaven!

--Translated by R.F. Burton

"On the Death of Catarina de Attayda" is reprinted from Hispanic Anthology: Poems Translated from the Spanish by English and North American Poets. Ed. Thomas Walsh. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1920.

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