II. PASSER (i)

IF ONLY I COULD
  o sparrow
  o my baby's baby
    with whom she'll play
    whom she'll hold in her toga's fold
    to (greedy) whom she'll offer a finger
      soon pecked
    who mean my bright baby can laugh at some I-don't-know-what
  o solace to her pain
      I think
    (who mean her heavy passion may pause)
PLAY WITH YOU TOO
AND LOSE THIS SADNESS
    (this rope around my head).

I. CVI DONO LEPIDVM NOVVM LIBELLVM?

Who's gonna get this
clever
new book,

this little book I just
polished dry
with pumice?

You are, Cornelius.

For you deemed
—even then,
when you

(alone of the
Italians) dared
to document

our whole age on
a meagre three
pages

...
learned pages
...

...
labour-intensive pages—

my nothings somethings.

For this reason, have
this whatever
of a book;

maybe (please my
guardian virgin)
it'll hang

around for
not a few
years.

Proem

Let me explain myself. Catullus never got the chance and I'm doing this so I don't repeat any of his mistakes.

I used to be better at Latin than Stephen Dedalus. Things have changed and I'm trying to get back to where I was. I loved Catullus an awful lot when I could read him - so I've set myself the task of reading every one of his carmina.

I figured I might as well practise writing too, so I'm going to pop my translations on here.

o patrona virgo,
plus uno maneat perenne saeclo.