The West River’s watershed sounds beyond the sky.
Shadows of pines in front of the studio sweep the clouds flat.
Who shall coax me to blow the long flute
Leaning together on the spring wind with the moonbeams for our toys?
translated by A.C. Graham
How do they manage to go so deep with so few words… By the way, can you recommend a good translation of Catullus for a mainly ignorant poet?
There are so many different translations of his work available and quite a few that are free on kindle. I have a translation by Charles Martin that I bought years ago which I find quite readable but I bought it because there weren’t that many choices then. I might be tempted now to get a dual language edition though I can’t read Latin but I tend to like dual language editions. I’m not sure this is helpful. Is it?
Thank you. It was helpful, except now I’m wondering about that dual language edition as well. I always wished I had been able to learn Latin at school, as I worked with a team of scientists for a while, and was captivated by the Latin in Linnaean names.
Good luck in finding one you like. If you have a kindle &/or like reading on your computer, there are several offered for free through amazon, including dual language ones.
Thanks Leonard – no, I’m a traditionalist. I got a Kindle for a while but gave it away to my granddaughter. Just love books…
Me, too, but unfortunately I can’t get all he books I would like to read in English in Turkey so sometimes must depend on kindle editions.