Poem for Tuesday

Ode No. 11
By Gaius Valerius Catullus
Translated by Charles Martin

Aurelius & Furius, true comrades,
whether Catullus penetrates to where in
outermost India booms the eastern ocean's
    wonderful thunder;

whether he stops with Arabs or Hyrcani,
Parthian bowmen or nomadic Sagae;
or goes to Egypt, which the Nile so richly
    dyes, overflowing;

even if he should scale the lofty Alps, or
summon to mind the mightiness of Caesar
viewing the Gallic Rhine, the dreadful Britons
    at the world's far end--

you're both prepared to share in my adventures,
and any others which the gods may send me.
Back to my girl then, carry her this bitter
    message, these spare words:

May she have joy & profit from her cocksmen,
go down embracing hundreds all together,
never with love, but without interruption
    wringing their balls dry;

nor look to my affection as she used to,
for she has left it broken, like a flower
at the edge of a field after the plowshare
    brushes it, passing.

--------

Finally a slower work day! I need to rearrange my bookshelves; my last oversized O'Brian reference has made some resorting necessary. My one great fear is that if I put my Harry Potter hardcovers on the bottom shelf, a certain member of my family with claws may abuse them. Bottom shelves in this house are generally blocked off by clutter, cardboard or something of more interest to cats than what is actually on the shelves.

In other news, my husband has procured a Napoleonic Avalon Hill game called War and Peace. Along with Fighting Sail, Enemy in Sight and the M&C game, we can now pretend to be Aubrey and Sharpe. Does this count as kinky role-playing? *g*

And, as a sequel to the Russell/Paul Gay Suit Post: more tinhatting!



I cut the background out around Paul for emphasis but even had I left in all the clutter it would be perfectly obvious: this is the same flaming purple suit. Well, not the same flaming purple suit, as I imagine Paul's legs are a few inches longer and Russell's wider in the hips. But...evidently they are trying to tell us something by wearing near-identical flaming purple suits, don't you think? What was Billy Crystal's line at the Oscars when he was holding Robin Williams' hand in their matching tuxedos...like a San Francisco wedding cake? Do we think Paul bought the gay suit for Russell, or Russell bought the gay suit for Paul?

...I'm so glad I don't write RPS.