To Lesbia – Gaio Valerio Catullo

This poem was written by a latin poet, Gaio Valerio Catullo about 2000 years ago. I’m moved by the strong, deep feeling arising from this poem. How burning passion! How suggestive images! I think this is one of the most beautiful poem ever written about love. My advice is to read also the latin version, if you can.

“The while we live, to love let’s give

Each hour, my winsome dearie!
Hence, churlish rage of icy age!
Of love we’ll ne’er grow weary.

Bright Phoebus dies, again to rise;
Returns life’s brief light never;
When once ‘tis gone, we slumber on
For ever and for ever.

Then, charmer mine, with help divine!
Give me a thousand kisses;
A hundred then, then hundred ten
Then other hundred blisses.

Lip thousand o’er, sip hundreds more

With panting ardour breathing;

Fill to the brim love’s cup, its rim

With rosy blossoms wreathing.

We’ll mix them then, lest to our ken

Should come our store of blisses,

Or envious wight should know, and blight

So many honey’d kisses.”

(J. Cranstoun, Edimburgo, 1867)

The Ballad of the Moon

THE BALLAD OF THE MOON

Once upon a time,
A lady
really nice
Who had all she had ever desired.
She got married during a
full moon,
But she felt his life wasn’t as she liked.

She looked at
the blue lake,
From a balcony full of lilies
And the Moon was
there.
Full, shinning more than silver,
Pale like the ice.

The lady
thought it could be very nice
To have a Moon always at her side.
From the
highness,
The Moon was looking down,
In the dark lake, to see her
image.

“Hey you! Moon!” – The lady shouted
“Would you like to come and
take a tea?”
“No thanks, I have an appointment with the sea”.
“Oh! I’d
love to come with you!!
To stay in a sky so blue!!”

“You see
everything on the world
And.. you are so beautiful!”
The Moon looked at
the lady-
“Oh! I’ve seen a lot of things”
“Some are pleasant and others
not”

The voice of the Moon was quiet
“But sometimes I feel
melanconic”.
And the lady, smiling, said
“If you take me with you,
I’ll
never leave you alone”

The Moon thought for a while
And then a pale
ray of light
Enlightened the balcony.
Everything became bright.
The
lady disappeared.

“Now you won’t feel alone anymore”
A new shining
star appeared in the sky
And If you look just a bit far from
The right
side of the Moon.
You’ll see the lady, smiling from the high.

(Rosa for Migue’s blog, 2010)

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An hypnotic video for a magic song…