Notes About The Poem
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Anacreontea
i
The women tell me, “Man, you’re old;
don’t be so bold.
Look into a mirror
to make it clearer:
your hair
ain’t there.”
But I can’t see what lies
above my eyes.
I do see more reason to play the game,
when Death takes aim.
ii
If wealth with all its money
could make us never die,
I'd give my life to earning,
and then, when Death came by,
I'd pay him and forget him.
But there’s no way to spend
yourself into forever.
So since my life must end,
what good does money do me,
or why then should I mourn
the certainty of dying,
which comes with being born?
My riches are in friendship
and drinking wine at ease,
and moon-lit celebrations
of Love’s solemnities.
iii
Old Gyges had a ton of gold
when he was Asia’s king;
his treasure houses leave me cold,
I don’t grudge him a thing.
What counts with me is scented hair,
rose garlands, and today;
so let’s drink while the weather’s fair:
tomorrow’s far away.
— from the Greek
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The poems are selected from the Anacreontea, a collection of anonymous Greek poems written in later antiquity in the style of the earlier Greek poet Anacreon.
Please note that this translation is Copyright 2026 by me, even though it is being translated from a text that is in the public domain in its original language.
Please note that I never have used and never will use AI to compose or revise any of my writings.
A random comment on poetry in general: A poem is self-expression, but the self a successful poem expresses is that of the reader, not that of the writer.
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