Sirmio; Lago di Garda. Catullus (c. 84-c. 54). Sermione (Sirmio). Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. 1876-79. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes. Italy: Vols. XI-XIII

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Italy: Vols. XI–XIII. 1876–79.

Sermione (Sirmio)

Sirmio; Lago di Garda

Catullus (c. 84–c. 54)


Translated by Thomas Moore SWEET Sirmio! thou, the very eye
Of all peninsulas and isles,
That in our lakes of silver lie,
Or sleep, enwreathed by Neptune’s smiles,—

How gladly back to thee I fly!	5
Still doubting, asking,—can it be
That I have left Bithynia’s sky,
And gaze in safety upon thee?

O, what is happier than to find
Our hearts at ease, our perils past;	10
When, anxious long, the lightened mind
Lays down its load of care at last;

When, tired with toil o’er land and deep,
Again we tread the welcome floor
Of our own home, and sink to sleep	15
On the long-wished-for bed once more.

This, this it is, that pays alone
The ills of all life’s former track.
Shine out, my beautiful, my own
Sweet Sirmio! greet thy master back.	20

And thou, fair lake, whose water quaffs
The light of heaven like Lydia’s sea,
Rejoice, rejoice,—let all that laughs
Abroad, at home, laugh out for me.