La Chatelaine de Vergi - part 6
(By Ysabeau de Vergi as appeared in the February 1990 Bolt)

La Chatelaine de Vergi - part 6

He hid himself as best he could
Behind a great tree with a large trunk
With which he covered himself as with a shield,
And he was careful to keep himself hidden.
The duke saw the knight
Enter the chamber,
And he saw his niece come to the knight
From the room to a courtyard,
And saw and heard her call to him
Out of sheer joy
And welcome him with lips and arms
As soon as she saw him.
She flew to him from the room
And gathered him into her lovely arms,
And kissed him a hundred times
Without further words.
And he kissed and hugged her,
And said to her, "My lady, my friend,
My love, my dear heart, my mistress,
My hope, and all that I love,
Know that I have longed
To be close to you, as I am now
For all the days since I was last near to you."
And she answered him, "My sweet Sire,
My sweet friend, my sweet love;
Never did pass a day or an hour
Of the wait which did not vex me;
But now nothing weighs upon me,
Since I have with me the one that I love,
And you are safe and sound.
May you be truly welcome!"
And he said, "And may you be well!"
The duke heard all this at the entry,
Because he was leaning very close to them.
His niece's voice and manner
He had recognized so clearly,
That he had now no more doubts,
And held that which the duchess had said
As a lie;
And he was much pleased, for he saw
That the knight had done nothing against him,
And that he had been mistaken.
The duke stayed there
Through the night, while
The lady and the knight spent the time
In the chamber in a bed,
Awake; and tasted of such great joy
That no one should have reason nor wish
To either speak or hear of it,
If he does not expect to have that same joy
That Love gives to true lovers
When their hardship is recompensed.
Because, he who does not long for such joy
If he hears of it understands nothing,
Because he does not have Love in his heart,
He cannot understand at all
The value of the joy that could be his,
If Love has not revealed it to him.
But such a gift is not granted to everyone,
Because it is a joy without cares,
And a solace and a happiness;
But, however long, it is short-lived.
Thus believes the true lover who holds it;
It never lasts long enough,
So pleasing to him is the life he leads
That, if the night would become a week,
and a week become a month,
And the month a year, and a year three,
And three years twenty, and the twenty years a hundred;
When it would come to an end,
He would wish that it were nightfall,
Instead of daybreak.
This was the thought of him whom the duke
Was waiting for,
Because by daybreak he must be gone.
His lady-love came with him to the door,
And there the duke saw them take leave of one another
Kisses given and kisses returned,
And he heard deep sighs,
And at the departure tears.
The duke shed many a tear,
And heard tell of the next meeting.
The knight in this way
Took his leave, and the lady closed the door;
But, for as long as possible,
She followed him with her loving eyes,
Until she could no longer see him.
When the duke saw the door closed,
Right away he set off on the way
Until he rejoined the knight,
Who complained to himself
That the night, he thought,
Had been much too short.
And such were the thoughts and complaint
Of her whom he had left,
To whom it seemed as though the night
Had been to short for her pleasure;
And the morn hardly pleased her.

To be continued.....

 Page last updated 12/28/99