
The poem describes the speaker's emotional turmoil and sense of desperation, feeling trapped and unable to escape their sorrow. They lament that their path is closed by Mercy, implying a lack of divine intervention or forgiveness. The tone is melancholic and introspective, with the speaker expressing feelings of confinement and despair.
By Francesco Petrarca · First published 1364 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Romanticism, Sonnet · 176 words
THOUGH FAR FROM LAURA, SOLITARY AND UNHAPPY, ENVY STILL PURSUES HIM.
Since mercy's door is closed, alas! to me, / And hopeless paths my poor life separate / From her in whom, I know not by what fate, / The guerdon lay of all my constancy, / My heart that lacks not other food, on sighs / I feed: to sorrow born, I live on tears: / Nor therefore mourn I: sweeter far appears / My present grief than others can surmise.
On thy dear portrait rests alone my view, / Which nor Praxiteles nor Xeuxis drew, / But a more bold and cunning pencil framed.
What shore can hide me, or what distance shield, / If by my cruel exile yet untamed / Insatiate Envy finds me here concealed?
Italian Literature · Renaissance Poetry · Sonnet Collection · Love Poems · Courtly Love · Petrarchan Sonnets · Medieval Italian · Lyrical Poetry · Romanticism · Classical Influence · Christian Themes · Spiritual Struggle
Poi Che 'L Cammin M' E Chiuso DI Mercede is listed on Textopian as a poem by Francesco Petrarca, dated 1364 CE.
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