The Old Nurse's Lament
Farewell, dear child, with whom I shared my joys,
Who suckled at my breasts as didst my own.
May thou find in the world where thou now art
All that thy heart desired while still alive,
But this our living world had thee denied.
Too young to have gone in the realm of shade
(Fourteen short summers only thou had lived),
Oh, would that I could give some of my years
To thee, I would most willingly extend
For thee to breathe once more and with thy grace
Give light to the house of the Capulets.
Farewell, farewell, thou victim of young love
Which love, though beautiful, consumes with fire
And makes one blind to society's norms
And even to break from strong kinship ties
To seek to be in the beloved's arms.
Farewell, my darling child, rest now thy heart!
This sepulcher though cold and hard shalt be
A citadel that for eternity
Thou and thy Romeo wilt never part.
November 8, 2024
Baguio City, Philippines
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