Verse Weekly

Sep 2009
Dante Met Beatrice
by
Paul Christian Stevens


 …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.
 
Copyright © 2009 Paul Christian Stevens. All rights reserved.
Reprinted by Verse Weekly with permission.