Friday, November 06, 2009


egens puellā quō fugiam meā
"Without her, where should I take refuge?"
In Horatian Alcaics

egens puellā quō fugiam meā?
Montēs adeptus num viridēs vager
lūnae velut qui lūminōsae
vōce lupus minitante cantat

explens sonō lustra et nemora invia
saevō, comantēs quī movet īlicēs?
Sīc spīritus spīrante Mūsā
interiōre sonō movētur.

Without her
Where should I take refuge?
Should I reach the verdant mountain
ranges, and there, wander
like a wolf
who sings to the luminous moon
with threatening howls

filling his haunts and glades
with the savage sound,
which moves the leafy
holm-oaks ?

This is how my heart moves,
when inspired,
stirred by a sound from within.

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