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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


SONNET by CECCO ANGIOLIERI DA SIENA

First Line: IF I WERE FIRE, I'D BURN THE WORLD; IF WIND
Last Line: LEAVING THE OLD AND UGLY TO ANOTHER.

IF I were fire, I'd burn the world; if wind,
Around about it furiously I'd blow;
If water, drowning it would suit my mind;
If God, then I'd dispatch it straight below;
If I were pope, I'd have a bit of fun
By setting Christians one against another;
If emp'ror, well, what think ye I'd have done?
All heads chopped off, and so an end to bother!
I would go seek my father were I death;
But were I life from him I'd flee away;
And I'd behave the same towards my mother;
If Cecco, as I am and draw my breath,
I'd choose such ladies as are young and gay,
Leaving the old and ugly to another.



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