"Upon a day, came Sorrow in to me"
on the 9th of June 1290
Upon a day, came Sorrow in to me,
Saying, ‘I’ve come to stay with thee a while’;
And I perceived that she had ushered Bile
And Pain into my house for company.
Wherefore I said, ‘Go forth – away with thee!’
But like a Greek she answered, full of guile,
And went on arguing in an easy style.
Then, looking, I saw Love come silently,
Habited in black raiment, smooth and new,
Having a black hat set upon his hair;
And certainly the tears he shed were true.
So that I asked, ‘What ails thee, trifler?’
Answering, he said: ‘A grief to be gone through;
For our own lady’s dying, brother dear.’
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Poet Dante Alighieri 1265–1321
POET’S REGION Italy
Subjects Love, Heartache & Loss
Biography
Dante Alighieri’s (1265–1321) epic allegorical poem Commedia, later renamed La Divina Commedia, is among the most significant works of Western literature. Dante completed the poem’s three sections, Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, early in the fourteenth century.
Poems by Dante Alighieri
Poem Categorization
SUBJECT Love, Heartache & Loss
POET’S REGION Italy
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