My Lord, when Fate takes a friend, a precious Poichè il fato, Signor, ti discompagna
I have made two versions:

My Lord, when Fate takes a friend, a precious
bond, when we are bereft and dispossessed,
the soul is troubled, grieves, and cries aloud

After Fate, my Lord, took your companion,
you found yourself bereft, without support,
thus you torment yourself and never cease
to give way to low cries of wretchedness
 Poichè il fato, Signor, ti discompagna
Da nodo cosi caro, di qual privo,
Sempre l'animo tuo s'affligge et lagna . . .

Comments:

1525, after Pavia, February into March, perhaps between spring and just before summer when she first heard Pescara was moving towards Morone and the French League's temptation of the crown of Naples, a terza rima poem urging Pescara that now that his good and ancient friend-in-arms, the Marchese Civita, was dead, he should not seek to "procure" himself a new friend, but drew closer instead to del Vasto, a bird unlike most he will find in this self-interested and malign world. The poem is thus described by Castriota and the opening lines are quoted. VC is identifying and describing her own self-torture, her own companionless state.

Sources:

Fifth fragment of poetry cited by Castriota, FMTordi, p. 505; also cited by Visconti, Discorso Preliminare, XXXIV ("da" becomes "di").

Translation:

Roscoe 335.
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