Catullus 70

Catullus 70 -
or
To No One--Nulli, a translation

Nulli se dicit mulier mea nubere malle
quam mihi, non si se Iuppiter ipse petat.
dicit: sed mulier cupido quod dicit amanti
in vento et rapida scribere oportet aqua.

"To no one," my woman says,
"There is no one I would prefer to marry myself to,
more than you, not even if Juppiter himself should seek me."
So she says. But what a woman tells her lust-filled lover
ought to be written on the winds and rapid rushing rivers.



To No One Else
-after Catullus 70

He reminds me of Heraclitus'
forgetful river and although I cannot
cannot have him, I should be able to

remember this, each time I catch
his liquid green eyes
in my palms I write love
on a rock and throw it.
Plunk and splash
in the water, where it will remain.


(The first is a translation, the second is a rough little poem inspired by it.)