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Jan Andrzej Morsztyn
Jan Andrzej Morsztyn - To a Butterfly (Sonnet)
TO A BUTTERFLY
(SONNET)
Carefully, butterfly! That fire is injurious!
Beware of this candle, beware of this fair face,
In whose glow gilded death secretly found its place,
Do not be for your martyrdom so covetous.
You rush to your grave and deceitful obsequies,
You draw near your own coffin and your dreams give chase,
Hoping to be set free by what sets you ablaze.
Ah! You have now lost your life, lover so hapless!
And yet you are fortunate that with an embrace,
After experiencing the desired pleasure,
You parted company with your beloved candle.
O! If I could only by the same fortune's grace
Die for the one for whom fires inside me kindle,
And yet before that have our lips come together!
Translated by Michael J. Mikoś