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Catullus Poems - Poems about Catullus

CATULLUS TRANSLATIONS 4

CATULLUS TRANSLATIONS 4

Catullus LXV aka Carmina 65
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Hortalus, I’m exhausted by relentless grief,
and have thus abandoned the learned virgins;
nor can my mind, so consumed by malaise,
partake of the Muses' mete fruit;
for lately the Lethaean flood laves my brother's
death-pale foot with its dark waves,
where, beyond mortal sight, ghostly Ilium 
disgorges souls beneath

Categories: catullus, brother, death, death of
Form: Free verse

CATULLUS TRANSLATIONS 3

CATULLUS TRANSLATIONS 3


Catullus VII: 'How Many Kisses'
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

You ask, Lesbia, how many kisses
are enough, or more than enough, to satisfy me?

As many as the Libyan sands
swirling in incense-bearing Cyrene
between the torrid oracle of Jove
and the sacred tomb of Battiades.

Or as many as the stars observing amorous men
making love furtively on a

Categories: catullus, angst, desire, happiness, love,
Form: Free verse

CATULLUS TRANSLATIONS 2

CATULLUS TRANSLATIONS 2

Catullus CI: 'His Brother's Burial'
translation by Michael R. Burch

1.
Through many lands and over many seas
I have journeyed, brother, to these wretched rites,
to this final acclamation of the dead...
and to speak — however ineffectually — to your voiceless ashes
now that Fate has wrested you away from me.
Alas, my dear brother, wrenched from my arms

Categories: catullus, brother, death, death of
Form: Rhyme

Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry

CATULLUS TRANSLATIONS

CATULLUS TRANSLATIONS



Catullus LXXXV: 'Odi et Amo'
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

1.
I hate. I love.
You ask, 'Why not refrain?'
I wish I could explain.
I can't, but feel the pain.

2.
I hate. I love.
Why? Heavens above!
I wish I could explain.
I can't, but feel the pain.

3.
I hate. I love.
How can that be, turtledove?
I wish I could explain.
I can't, but feel

Categories: catullus, books, boy, god, hate,
Form: Rhyme

Lesbia Discussed Catullus' Poetry

I’m not some filthy ****
who calls your poems 
a joke; I like them. 
But here’s advice, 
take it or ignore it:  
You lard a poem with myths 
that weigh it down; half 
the young no longer know them. 
In the next poem you introduce a talking door. 
Do doors talk in Verona? 
You use

Categories: catullus, poetry,
Form: Lyric

Lesbia Recalls Meeting Catullus

That night you came and dined with us
there was a wind, then soft rain. 
My hair was dressed by Aemilia                     
who does it to perfection, and I wore no jewelry
except the brooch my husband gave

Categories: catullus, love,
Form: Lyric

Catullus

So, you think my poems obscene?  Read Catullus. 
Graffiti-ed lavatories are more apt sites
for his scatological puerile poem writes. 
Yet, today his leather bound tomes enthrall us. 

Vicariously momentarily shot
back over two thousand years I get to watch
as he skewers harlots, fools and others such;
poetically, of course; who strut what they ought not.

Lesbia and

Categories: catullus, on writing and words,
Form: Sonnet

Kiss (After Catullus)

Kiss me but once, Sweet,
And I'll be rapt away;
Or kiss me a second time,
Oh! away all day!

Kiss me but thrice, Sweet,
And I am gone for good;
Or kiss me forever,
Oh, Love, yes you should!

Categories: catullus, happiness, loveme, kiss, me,
Form: Lyric