Onion Tears

Lugete, o Veneres Cupidinesque,

et quantum est hominum venustiorum:

passer mortuus est meae puellae,

passer, deliciae meae puellae,

quem plus illa oculis suis amabat.

(Catullus 3)

Long did we mourn

poor Lesbia's sparrow

who sang without care

in that sweet lady's lap;

Long do we mourn poor Quintus.

Bird/man the pair unwit players

in four acts of love

whose final chorus

a killing most foul

Curtain rises on Sparrow

as he sips from Love's hand,

and falls in the fading light

of her husband's eyes Long Do

We Mourn poor Quintus

while Lesbia merely laughs,

the motives of the male

too easily understood.

Quintus never saw it coming

and so to Catullus...

(Image: Turner, Ancient Rome, Aggripina landing with the ashes of Germanius)