Blowin’ in the Wind

Cursorem sexta tibi, Rufe, remisimus hora, carmina quem madidum nostra tulisse reor: imbribus inmodicis caelum nam forte ruebat. Non aliter mitti debuit ille liber. I sent you my messenger, Rufus, at the sixth hour, And I think that he was drenched when he delivered my poems; For it chanced the sky descended with a downpour of rain. In no other way should that book of mine have been sent.

Martial, Epigrams, Book 3, C
English translation by Walter C. A. Ker

An Iraqi youth dressed as Santa Claus delivers gifts to children in the old city of Mosul. Photo: AFP/Ahmad Al-Rubaye.