Blowin’ in the Wind

I, felix rosa, mollibusque sertis nostri cinge comas Apollinaris. Quas tu nectere candidas, sed olim — sic te semper amet Venus — memento. Go, fortunate rose, with your soft petals touch My favourite’s head. Years hence, when the young hairs Have whitened, let roses clasp them still: A memory of Venus in old age. Va, rosa avventurosa, e co’ tu serti cingi le chiome al nostro Apollinare. Vedi di coronarlo anche canuto, un tempo; e sempre ti protegga Venere.

Martial, Epigrams, Book 7, LXXXIX
English translation by Peter Whigham
Italian translation by Giuseppe Lipparini

A couple of komodo dragons dancing a romantic waltz. Photo: Sergey Savvi/Barcroft Images.