S'io non miro non moro

S'io non miro non moro,
Non mirando non vivo;
Pur morto io son, né son di vita privo.
O miracol d'amore, ahi, strana sorte,
Che'l viver non fia vita, e'l morir morte.
 
If I look not, I die not;
when I do not look, I am not alive;
yet dead I am, though my life has not been taken from me.
Oh miracle of love; alas, strange fate,
that living should not result in life, nor dying in death.

English translation by Mick Swithinbank at CPDL

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2009-06-23, Christian Mondrup, Werner Icking Music Archive