Quando me'n vo'

Quando me'n vo'
Quando me'n vo' soletta per la via,
la gente sosta e mira,
e la bellezza mia tutta ricerca in me,
ricerca in me
Da capo a' piè.

Ed assaporo allor la bramosia
sottil che dagli occhi traspira
e dai palesi vezzi intender sa
alle occulte beltà.
Così l’effluvio del desìo tutta m'aggira,
felice mi fa!

E tu che sai, che memori e ti struggi,
da me tanto rifuggi?

So ben:
le angosce tue non le vuoi dir,
non le vuoi dir, so ben,
ma ti senti morir!

When I walk
When I walk alone in the street
People stop and stare at me
And everyone looks at my beauty,
Looks at me
From head to foot.

And then I relish the sly yearning
Which escapes from their eyes
And which is able to perceive
My most hidden beauties.
Thus the scent of desire is all around me,
And it makes me happy!

And you who know, who remember and yearn,
You shrink from me?

I know it very well:
You do not want to express your anguish,
I know so well that you do not want to express it
but you feel as if you are dying!