One plays a poet who starts up a band of his own

[sovay]

For asakiyume, Catullus 7:

You ask me how many of those kisses
of yours, Lesbia, are enough and more?
As many as number the sands of Libya
that lie in Cyrene rich in silphium
between the oracle of sultry Jupiter
and Battus the ancestor's sacred tomb
or as many stars as in the silenced night
watch the stolen loves of mortals—
to kiss you so many of those kisses
is, for crazy Catullus, enough and more,
which the curious will never tally up
nor use with wicked tongue to cast a spell.

Comments

Re: "or as many stars as in the silenced night..."

[strange-selkie.livejournal.com]

Well, we'd see it again in print.

Did you just pome right out in the comment field, or had you had it lying by? If you have more like it, you might see if Papaveria Press would do one of their extraordinary little books.

Re: "or as many stars as in the silenced night..."

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Sovay left me her translation in a comment to her previous translation, and after reading it there, and before seeing it here, I got to thinking about the stars as being like salt, and so I was playing with the idea in my head, I guess? But then yeah, I wrote it up in the comment field.

Alas, no more like it... well, or, I mean, I have bunches of poems, but . . . well, maybe one day I'll collect a bunch of them and show them to Erzebet.

Re: "or as many stars as in the silenced night..."

[strange-selkie.livejournal.com]

Alas, no more like it... well, or, I mean, I have bunches of poems, but . . . well, maybe one day I'll collect a bunch of them and show them to Erzebet.

You are the universe's or just sovay's revenge on me for all these years of whingeing about publishing things well, maybe, kinda, sorta, someday, but who would read them? *laughs*

By which I mean, I understand and offer hugs.

*tips a cup to sovay*
You're right; it is hard making people believe in themselves.