Author: brhepner

SCOPA! (Elegiac Couplets) Voces perturbat tranquillos: hi “Scopa!” clamant.   “Ludite nobis! Ne cursitet hora,” vocant.Tunc iaciunt reges, nummos, sicas, quoque lances.   In pugna ficta — “Vaha!” — trabemque dabit.Plenaque clava ingens convertit maxime risu.   Valde pulsant hos. Proxima vina bibo. Voices disturb the quiet (moments): These (boys) shout, “Scopa!”   “Play with us! Lest the hour run out,” they call.Then…

EPIGRAM METUS ALTITUDINUMDeplorata humilis mortalis ego propre turrim   ingentem graduum paula verens cadere:Marcida pertineo fletu sublime cacumen;   est trepidatio non, sicuti celsa dea.FEAR OF HEIGHTSWeeping, I, a lowly mortal near a huge tower   of steps, fearing to fall:Withered, I reach the lofty summit with a tear;   there is no fear now, just as a high goddess. METRICAL HAIKU HAIKU…

OPTIMUS POETA (Iambic Trimeter) Libelle, dice lineas mihi optimi.Quis? Vel Maro quis arma tunc virum canit?Vel doctus Ovidius suo rapto pede?Miser tot hendecasyllabis poeta ne?Sit atque semper est Homerus optimus. THE BEST POETLibellus, tell me the lines of the best one.Who is it? Vergil, who once sang of the arms and the man?Or is it…

EPIGRAM O SCHOLA!Quam mirabilis, O Schola, ac insula parva videris!   Umquam homines aderant? Qualia pulchra tenes?Quamquam fama tenet sic te notam Ciceroni,   Nusquam scripta manent; heu, sine more locus. O Schola, how tiny and marvelous an island you seem!   Were ever men present? What sort of beautiful things do you hold?Although rumor has it in such a way…

METRICAL HAIKU NOTHING TO WRITEOne morning arriving at the classroom early I found that the “Inspiration Hat” had been mistaken for a wastebasket and emptied. We fished out the slips of inspiration from among the cream puff wrappers. Cavete ne sitquisquiliae subitoafflatus almae. Be careful lestthe inspiration of our kind Musesuddenly become garbage. WHIRLING HAIKUBellus…

AD ERYCINAM (Iambic Trimeter)Venus latebat nubium sub agmine,Longe relicta, sacra adhuc tandem petens. TO THE GODDESS OF ERICEVenus lay beneath the ranks of clouds,Long abandoned, but in the end, even now seeking her sacred places. METRICAL HAIKU IN MEMORIAM GALLIQuid gallus amensTransgreditur viam eam?Ut trans viam sit. A CHICKEN, IN MEMORIAM“Why did the mad chickencross…

METRICAL HAIKU LACUNAELacuna praesensvertice inest, Satyre,et in poesi. HOLESThere’s a hole presentthere in your noggin, Satyr,and in my verse. EFFODIENDAEVersus cerebro,corpora naufragio:aequale pensum? TOUGH WORKVerses from a brain,bodies from a shipwreck:comparable tasks? EPIGRAM MONUMENTATempore contritas has contemplare ruinas.   Aedificata hominum posthabitura cadunt.En! Nodosa tenax quam saecula oliva perennat;   Naturae lente diu monumenta manent. MONUMENTSConsider these ruins eroded…

ELEGAIC COUPLETS ATOP ERYXAediculis minime desertis culmine montis   passeribus sacris pervigilabat Amor. In shrines not at all deserted atop the mountain,   Love kept vigil with the sacred sparrows. REARVIEWClunes miraris caelestis marmoreosque.   Virginis aut satyri, membra venusta tibi. At buttocks you marvel, heavenly and marble.   Girl’s or satyr’s, the limbs delight you. TWO THE RESCUESoter means “savior” in Greek;…

METRICAL HAIKU MONTIS ERYCIS IN CLIVOSub axe celatNubifer insula sePraebetque nobis. Under the heavensThe cloud-bearing islandConceals and reveals itself to us. GOLDEN LINE DE MODIS METRICISPlurima inaspectis generantur praemia mendis.Many rewards are born from unseen mistakes. EPIGRAM MARSALAE LACUNA SALSAPrevailing winds and shallow water bring kitesurfers from all over to Lo Stagnone, Marsala’s Salt Lagoon.…