I come from a musical place
Where they shoot me for my song
And my brother has been tortured
By my brother in my land.
I come from a beautiful place
Where they hate my shade of skin
They don't like the way I pray
And they ban free poetry.
......
There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.
Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie--
Perfect passion and worship fed
......
In the burned house I am eating breakfast.
You understand: there is no house, there is no breakfast,
yet here I am.
The spoon which was melted scrapes against
the bowl which was melted also.
No one else is around.
Where have they gone to, brother and sister,
mother and father? Off along the shore,
......
Hey Father Death, I'm flying home
Hey poor man, you're all alone
Hey old daddy, I know where I'm going
Father Death, Don't cry any more
Mama's there, underneath the floor
Brother Death, please mind the store
Old Aunty Death Don't hide your bones
Old Uncle Death I hear your groans
......
"I will to the King,
And offer him consolation in his trouble,
For that man there has set his teeth to die,
And being one that hates obedience,
Discipline, and orderliness of life,
I cannot mourn him."
-- W. B. Yeats.
Patting goodbye, doubtless they told the lad
He'd always show the Hun a brave man's face;
Father would sooner him dead than in disgrace, --
......
Brother, you are a lot older than me
You have a wife and a son to look after
You have Ms. That makes it harder to walk
But you walk anyway with crutches
You have also to work to pay the bills
We communicate by email
We were both born a Christian
Brother, I pray for you every day
have I ever told enough that I love you?
Brother, I even miss you
......
CATULLUS TRANSLATIONS
Catullus CI aka Carmina 101: “His Brother’s Burial”
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
1.
Through many lands and over many seas
I have journeyed, brother, to these wretched rites,
to this final acclamation of the dead ...
and to speak — however ineffectually — to your voiceless ashes
......
My cute little brother,
Full of pristine purity,
Glows amidst people other,
Full of divine sanctity.
Stuffed with pure love,
Filled with intimate innocence,
Like an angel from above,
He spreads his milky essence.
......
A man is like a tree, tall and strong,
With branches reaching up to the sky.
His roots run deep, he's been here so long,
And he stands firm when the winds pass by.
His trunk is solid, his bark so rough,
But he's gentle too, like a soft breeze.
He may seem tough, but he's filled with love,
And his heart beats with the greatest ease.
......
Cowardly brother, I think I've found the answer
But while you've been holding the question,
You think you're an actor
Does your heart still yearn?
To know what went wrong
Fucked up kids
My heart's just beating along
I've looked through the dirty glass,
......