Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Italy: Vols. XI–XIII. 1876–79.
Florence
By Piero de’ Medici (1416–1469)Translated by Capel Lofft
D
Be toucht, dear land, a little for thy child!
Seem to his woes compassionate and mild,
Since in thy arms his life was first begun
And cherisht. From our birth our fate must run
Assigned; as to the bird his wood-notes wild,
And flight!—but of whatever hopes beguiled,
In this one instance my request be done:
That not in death, as in my griefs, alone,
However long estranged from thee I rove,
Thee in my ashes I may call my own,
Reposing by that father whom I love,
By whom so high thy fame and worth have flown.
Grant this sole boon, whatever thou remove.