Poem of The Week

[jazzy_dave]

I have recently been reading the poems of Catullus in English translation from one of these special Penguin 80 years o publishing mini paperbacks.



Here is one of them.


Let us live, Maryann, and let us love,
And let's not give a damn penny to every
Snide whisper of the puritanical old men.
The day's light comes and sets, and then returns again,
But for us the brief light shines but once,
And night stretches forth in one long sleep.
Give me a thousand kisses, the a hundred more,
Another thousand, a second hundred or two,
A thousand and still a hundred hundred more.
Then when we have kissed a thousand thousand times
Let the countless number fly away before we pause
Counting, nor let some envious eye devise a plot
Knowing that so many kisses can be kissed

Comments

[du-secondaire.livejournal.com]

I love this <3<3

[marina-bonomi.livejournal.com]

Nice translation, but...Maryann?

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Yes i noticed that too.

[marina-bonomi.livejournal.com]

I wonder what the translator put in instead of 'Nonius' or 'Caesar',or if is problem was specifically with Catullus' nickname for Clodia: 'Lesbia'.

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Actually, in the translations here he does use "lesbia".

[marina-bonomi.livejournal.com]

Then I *really* don't understand.

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

So beautiful. :)
Hugs, Jon

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Um... "Maryann"???

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

That did kind of jar with e too.

[kabuldur.livejournal.com]

I loved this, too.

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Sounding quite modern really.

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

Well done, this...