In Verona - Cyprian Kamil Norwid

1

O’er the abodes o’the Capulets and Montagues,

The gentle eye there in the spacious skies now views,

By thunder whipped and washed with rain —

2

The lonesome ruins of the two adverse estates,

The once so splendid, now demolished, garden gates;

And casts a star from the heavenly plain —

3

The cypress says: For Romeo and Juliet

It is a tear that permeates their tombs so wet,

And drenches them – now even more.

4

But many people, in a sagely fashion, say

That it is rocks and stones not tears that fall today,

Stones and rocks – that none’s been waiting for!

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Cyprian Kamil Norwid (1821–1883) Poland

Translated by Jarek Zawadzki

Source: Selected Masterpieces of Polish Poetry, translated from the Polish by Jarek Zawadzki, CC-BY-SA, 2007