A liberal translation of Catullus XLIV. O most insightful of all Marx’s grandchildren*, from those who are, have been and will be in the years to come, I, the most fragile of poets, give you my most solemn thanks, as much the most fragile of poets, are you are the greatest of hosts. *What exemplifies … Continue reading 49. It takes one to know one
Tag: Poems
A Disgrace to Education
A liberal translation of Catullus XXVIII My white-collared friends, footmen of the City of London, are you still working away for an ungrateful boss, who takes your time and gives you no money? Aren’t you tired of early starts and missing date night? Unpaid internships, heart attacks on the toilet, cocaine orgies that leave you … Continue reading A Disgrace to Education
A Sonnet For All Seasons
Spring April spring blew life onto the lilies.We sat and talked loudly of ElvisAnd of theatre, our souls warmed by the breezeThat wetted dry streets, kindly with a kiss. A kiss? A dream? Do I dare thus to dreamOf what might never be? Like parched flowers,My thirsty pages crave the ink, and beamWith tender white when calmed … Continue reading A Sonnet For All Seasons
Another Woolf Gone
Jane, 48, university lecturer.Shop worker told store is closing. “When are you going to get your clothes off?” she said. The grey rain dampened the stone around the Pantheon. The bars were quieter than usual. A lecturer at the university is to meet her husband within wooden panels. She asks softly her husband to kiss her navel … Continue reading Another Woolf Gone
An Invitation to Dinner
A hungry translation Catullus 13 If your schedule is not so busy this Thursday, dear friends, then you will dine like a king chez moi. So long as, of course, you yourself bring the meal - and make it a large one, with wine, some Parisian ladies too, a good deal of wit and all … Continue reading An Invitation to Dinner