hot and cold

I live, I die, I burn, I freeze
I'm hot while I endure the cold
Life's too much hardness, too much ease
My joy and worries interfold
At once I laugh and I'm in tears
In pain in pleasure I've long been
My good goes off and lasts for years
At once I dry up and I'm green
So jerkily love leads me on
And when I think I'll have more stress
I find myself without a trace
Then when I feel my pain is gone
And at the peak of happiness
It's back to my unhappy place

Louise Labé (1526–1565)

diffusion

would that all of us played prophets
meditating on our parts
irrigating lands of promise
with a flood of melting hearts