The Great Mirror of Same-Sex Love - Poetry - 25. for Andrea Ferrantini

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for Andrea Ferrantini

[Lanza 11]

Thanks to you, my angelic figure,

There is a light that without you wouldn’t shine;

Even Phoebus is guided by your light.

Nature created you in the Empyrean.

Faith, hope, and love securely reside

In you, and prudence radiates there

With strength and temperance; pure justice

Returns with you, along with other virtues.

Heaven made you so worthy of great praise

That I could not describe you in just a few lines,

But your virtuous acts show the honor in you.

And I – poor thing! – can only disparage myself.

I thank you that you didn’t refuse my proposal,

And so I’ll be your slave with you my master.

[Lanza 10]

From the time of your promise and my acceptance

The new moon has ten times returned,

And still that time can’t quiet my desire

But kindles it to heavy passion

In my thoughts and my imagination;

But the hope of having you as the doctor

For this terrible wound also comforts me,

Since no one but you could ever heal it.

I know that you will keep that promise made

So that you won’t lose any credit with the masses

And you will keep your virtues alive.

I was yours and will be if you want me;

And so I beg you not to further delay,

For time is fleeting, and we cannot regain it.

[Lanza 9] On the Death of Andrea Ferrantini

Dead is the desire, lost is the hope

That used to make me happy in this world;

For me every comfort is lacking;

For me there is no joy or happiness;

All that I grieve for are my failures;

I grieve for myself and repose with grief.

Grief assails mc so hard that I don’t dare

Or even want to have good spirits again,

Because through vileness I have lost that one

That the heavens and fate and world gave to me

In order to lend peace to my troubled heart.

What shall I do, what say, my beautiful friend?

I can’t die, and yet living aggravates me

If your loving flower doesn’t spring up again.

[Lanza 14]

I can no longer be content

Any more in this world

After Death undertook the undoing

Of my once happy lord.

I’ve become completely depressed,

No longer in any way happy!

I wasn’t aware of the ambush

Treacherously laid in my path –

Not as long as I enjoyed my happiness.

Only God perceived it

And made a fool of me

To everyone around me.

Andrea and I always spent our time

Together in fun and games,

And we were in each other’s

Thoughts all of the time.

We were always together

At balls, song-fests, and banquets.

This way our noble lives moved on,

And both of us were always happy.

When we were most content

And were basking in our love,

False, disloyal Lady Death

Sneaked out in a treacherous way

And stabbed my friend so brutally

That he was forced to leave me.

He departed in the flower of his youth,

Leaving me bereft in this bitter world.

I asked that jealous bitch

Who so violently divided us

To be gracious enough

To turn my tears to laughter;

I asked her if she would strike me

With the bow that had transfixed him

To banish me from this world

So that I could join my happy master.

Go away, my song, and travel

Up to the sixth heaven;

Find my companion there

And tell him this for me:

“Andrea, as you know,

Your Nanni suffers pain for you

And is struggling to rejoin you,

But Death detains him bitterly in the world.”

— Giovanni (aka “Nanni”) Pegolotti,[i]

circa 1375

[after James Wilhelm]