…ne l’ultimo di questi die avvenne che questa
mirabile donna apparve a me…
—Dante, La Vita Nuova, III
Dante met Beatrice, just briefly, and just twice,
Yet loved her, utterly, his whole life through:
He’d never seen her clap her hands at some idea, and laugh,
Her eyes alight, and dance for perfect joy—as I have you.
He’d never seen her clap her hands at some idea, and laugh,
Her eyes alight, and dance for perfect joy—as I have you.
