Giambattista Marino – Onde dorate / Golden waves

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Venus Anadyomene, c. 1848

Golden waves – and those waves were hair – 
were one day ploughed by a little ship of ivory. 
A hand, also of ivory, 
held the ship as it sailed, 
preciously errant, here and there.
And as it divided the quivering and beautiful billows
with the straightest of furrows,
Amor gathered up the gold of those broken threads 
to make chains for unruly lovers.
And my agitated heart went
to its death on that golden sea, which, as it curled 
opened its stormy blond treasure.
Submerged, I die in the richest of shipwrecks,
for at least in my tempest
the reef was of diamonds and the gulf of gold!

Onde dorate, e l’onde eran capelli,
navicela d’avorio un dì fendea;
una man pur d’avorio la reggea
per quasi errori preziosi e quelli;
E mentre i flutti tremolanti e belli
con drittissimo solco dividea,
l’or de le rotte fila Amor cogliea,
per formarne catene à suoi ribelli.
Per l’aureo mar, che rincrespando apria
il procelloso suo biondo tesoro,
agitato il mio core a morte gìa.
Ricco naufragio, in cui sommerso ì moro,
poich’almen fur ne la tempesta mia
di diamante lo scoglio e ‘l golfo d’oro!