Heu! fugit a nobis nunc quo occurri tibi tempus
Laetus ducens ad Vestam fessum socium atque
Frusrta Parkas orans ut longe maneres hic
Sed iam discedes longaeque horae patiendae.
Pluris enim te certam, quam mille aestimo amicos
Qui, non temtati, nimbo desunt tibi primo.

Alas, has fled from us now the time when I greeted you
My weary friend, joyfully leading you to the fireplace,
And vainly imploring the Fates that you might long remain.
But already you are departing and long hours are to be endured.
For I value your proven friendship more than that of a thousand others,
Who untried, let you down at the first storm cloud.

Illustra astrorum regina micantium et altis
Neptuni in regnis moderans aestus fluitantes,
Tu vates aeterna colore Iovis monuisti
Mutanti de fulminibus diris; tamen aequa
Tu argenteo in splendore salutas vesperam. Honesta
Custos somni alati noctem leniter auris
Delenis aestivam suspirantibus atque
Labens, navis et idolon caelum per inane,
Ardentes adspectas tranquillae tuam amantes
Captam saepe lacunae mirantes faciem undis.
Fata illustrat lux Chaldaeis pallida doctis
Omnia qui cursu metuntur perpetuo annos
Ultra fines temporis. At tacite quoque lucos
Vestis somnantes miserorum in carmine vitae
Integrae. O noctis dea regalis tibi Phoebus
Clarus debuit incinare umbra veniente.

(Oh) lustrous queen of shimmering stars,
Ruling the drifting tides in Neptune’s deep domain,
Thou, eternal prophetess, dost with thy changing hues
Warn of Jupiter’s dread thunder-bolts,
Yet calmly greet the evening in (thy) silvery splendor.
Honored guardian of winged sleep,
Lightly dost thou sooth a summer evening with sighing breezes,
And gliding, a ghostly galleon through an open sky,
Dost gaze upon ardent lovers marveling at your reflection
Oft’ captured on the waves of a quiet pond.
Thy pale light reveals all destinies to the learned Chaldeans,
Who measure the years by thy course unending,
Beyond the bounds of time. But also dost thou quietly cloth
The sleeping groves of the humble in the magic of fresh life.
O regal goddess of the night, (even) Phoebus, in all his glory,
Must bow to you with the approaching dusk.

Quomodo hiems miseram tristis mentem moderetur
Saepe recordabor, et cum socios benementes
Contemnens, quaeram flentes fontes Acherontis.
Quam stulte sumpsi tot menses destituique
Vitam caram. Nam quacumque est tu petis, aestas.

I shall often recall how sad winter ruled my wretched soul,
When turning aside well-meaning friends,
I sought the weeping fountains of Acheron.
How foolishly I wasted so many months and abandoned precious life.
For summer is wherever you seek it.

Poems by Frank Levin

En été,
Vous songez
Que vous aimez l'hiver.

En hiver,
Au contraire,
L'été maintenant est cher.

When winter nips our noses
Frozen fingers thaw from frost,
In vain we cry, “O summer,
How was your friendship lost?”
Then summer with her humid heat
Returns to partch our throats,
And we can’t wait till winter
To don our duffle coats.

To live from day to day
Is just a coward’s way.
When hopes begin to fall,
It’s time to end it all.
For should your life become a bore,
When waking means just one day more,
Of treasured hopes that tripping fall,
Like shattered glass against the wall,
The time has come to end it all.
Should bank accounts be getting low
And landlords order you to go.
Evicted into winter snow,
And forced to live in old skid row
With falling plaster, filth and rats,
At night the sound of screeching bats,
No faithful friends to ever call,
When liquor brings no help at all.
The time has come to end it all.
Jump off a cliff this very day,
“Poor wretched soul,” they all will say.
But vainly seek the fated hill,
That’s suited for your final spill.
This one’s too high and that’s too low.
( A river rushes by below)
Now jumping’s fine but drowning too.
Then fear of heights takes hold of you.
You’d likely catch your death of cold
In struggling against the river’s hold.
Far safer from your window sill
To calmly jump steadfast of will.
But leaping in a gust of air ,
You fall and hardly muss a hair.
Then while you on the pavement sprawl,
A dog comes by and does his all.
Your second attempt is more carefully planned.
You hold the gun steadily in your right hand.
But being left handed, what do you suppose?
You pull back the trigger and shoot off your nose!
You fill the tub and stepping in,
Grasp the socket the light was in.
Yet death again eludes your will,
You forgot to pay your electric bill.
Oh miserable soul of all sanity spent,
The public forever must now pay your rent.
Destined till death to gaze into the skies,
Through iron bars with swollen eyes.

Here's my postcard from the sky,
Where lark and plane and seagull fly,
Where albatross mate on wing,
Where eagles dive and robins sing,
Where mountains soar
From earth's firey core,
And northern lights
Make magical nights,
Where clouds bring rains
And hurricanes,
And sunsets turn the air to flame
Enchanting lover and his dame,
Where the unicorn
And myths are born,
And nights bring fear
That death is near.
Where morning haze
Brings lazy days,
And pollen blows
That itches nose.
Where wind catches sail,
Where spouts the whale,
Where saplings reach,
Where falls the peach,
Where kites dip and dance,
Where flies the lance,
Where astronomers spy
To catch God's eye,
Where geysers gush,
And Spring brings slush,
Where scents from flowers
Fill the bowers,
And poets' dreams,
Pass the hours.
And poets' dreams
Pass the hours.
And poets' dreams
Pass the hours..

Milkweed seeds.
And chasing them,
I float away.

Crushing maple keys underfoot.
Wondering,
What might have been?

The moon,
Making faces,
In a mud pond.

Fluttering in the wind,
A discarded kleenex.
So free!

Barren branches
Skyward,
In prayer.

Before the onrushing headlights,
The porcupine,
Standing steady.

Pine trees
Tickling
The sky.

From the ice,
How beautiful is
My alley window!

Across the vast desert sky,
Seesawing along,
A little fly.

Pushing through,
The grubby sidewalk,
A tiny flower.

Firefly,
Because of you,
The darkness is magical.

The Book of Knowledge:
Have I finished,
The title page?

An important meeting,
And through the open door,
A clerk playing yoyo.

A gust of wind
And suddenly
A thousand leaves dancing in the sun.

Heaven’s
Redecorating-
Thunder storms.

Pigeons or snow on the hill.
From a distance,
Who can tell?

Dead bird.
By a stone,
Water lapping.

Underfoot, stretched out
On the shiny pavement,
A sticky worm.

Lilac,
For your fragrance,
What can we give you?

In the slow blinking
Of a tired dog’s eyes,
The old town.

Do you blossom to please yourself,
Or does it please you to delight others,
Selfish cherry?

Another summer gone,
To show for it,
Hay fever again.

Into my attaché case,
So no one will know I have it,
An autumn maple leaf

Floating on the air and carpeting the ground,
Like pink snow,
Dying cherry blossoms.

You may hunt for a runt,
Kick a punt way out front,
But you'll never find a rhyme for month.
You may pilfer what you will, for
Some dill, you may kill, and for
Trying never find a rhyme for silver.
You may drink a tea that's herbal,
You may burbble at a gerbil,
And still fail to find a rhyme for purple.
You may cringe or show courage,
You may throw away your porridge,
But you'll never find a rhyme,
It's a shame it's not a crime,
But you'll never find a rhyme for orange