European Elegies/Winter/Winter woods

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27.WINTER WOODS

Fair sylvan solitude, belov'd retreatOf my bewildered spirit, tired outThese dark, short days, when north winds wrap aboutThe earth and sky frost's hoary winding-sheet,Thy ancient, green-dark tresses, touched with sleet,Are grown as white as mine, and all throughoutThy open glades the snow has put to routThe scarlet flowers that made the springtime sweet.
Here, in the misty light of this brief day,I meditate upon my mortal painAnd feel my mind and members turn to ice;But more than nature's is my frost's stark reign;My winter brings a wind more sharp to slay,A longer night, a day with darker skies.


From the Italian of Giovanni della Casa.

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