Version 2
Suck my dick & fuck you.
Aurelius, enjoy the taste of my cock. Furius, you’ll like it up the ass.
My provocative poems arouse you, so
you say I’m a pervert. Just because
my poetry makes you horny
doesn’t mean it’s impure.
Boys get boners from everything, &
should hairy old codgers get hard-ons
that only goes to show poetry's sensuality.
You who read my thousand kisses
& think I’m not a real man:
Suck my dick & fuck you.
*
Version 1
Suck my dick & fuck you.
your sensibilities, that I’m a pervert.
Whatever debauchery you find in my poems,
it doesn’t mean I’m debased or my poetry's less pure.
My cunning wit isn’t meant for boys, but
for the old & hairy who need a little
seduction & few raunchy bits to get it up.
You who read my thousand kisses
& think I’m not a real man:
Suck my dick & fuck you.
Aurelius, enjoy the taste of my cock. Furius, you’ll like it up the ass.
You think, because my passionate poems offendyour sensibilities, that I’m a pervert.
Whatever debauchery you find in my poems,
it doesn’t mean I’m debased or my poetry's less pure.
My cunning wit isn’t meant for boys, but
for the old & hairy who need a little
seduction & few raunchy bits to get it up.
You who read my thousand kisses
& think I’m not a real man:
Suck my dick & fuck you.
---------------
Note on Version 1: While I consulted the Latin, this isn't a translation as much as an interpretation based upon the many widely varied translations available, each lacking in its own way. I want the poem to have the feel of playful spontaneity, as if the poet were speaking at an event, not unlike today's celebrity roasts, in which insults were traded in a joking manner.
Note on Version 1: While I consulted the Latin, this isn't a translation as much as an interpretation based upon the many widely varied translations available, each lacking in its own way. I want the poem to have the feel of playful spontaneity, as if the poet were speaking at an event, not unlike today's celebrity roasts, in which insults were traded in a joking manner.
Note on Version 2: Here I pretty much push the original text further aside to get to the heart of what Catullus is saying & present it as it might be said today.
Comments