Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, HOME TO SIRMIO, by GAIUS VALERIUS CATULLUS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

HOME TO SIRMIO, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Dear sirmio, that art the very eye
Last Line: Rejoice; and every smile of home awake!
Alternate Author Name(s): Catullus, Caius Valerius
Variant Title(s): Homeward Bound
Subject(s): Homecoming; Sirmione, Italy


DEAR Sirmio, that art the very eye
Of islands and peninsulas, that lie
Deeply embosomed in calm inland lake,
Or where the waves of the vast ocean break;
Joy of all joys, to gaze on thee once More!
I scarce believe that I have left the shore
Of Thynia, and Bithynia's parching plain,
And gaze on thee in safety once again!
Oh, what more sweet than when, from care set free,
The spirit lays its burden down, and we,
With distant travel spent, come home and spread
Our limbs to rest along the wished-for bed!
This, then alone, repays such toils as these!
Smile, then, fair Sirmio, and thy master please, --
And you, ye dancing waters of the lake,
Rejoice; and every smile of home awake!




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