[Janice D. Soderling]

Catullus 46

Now spring brings back the thawed-out warmth,
now the raging of the equinoctial sky
subsides with the sweet breezes of Zephyr.
Let the Phrygian plains be left behind, Catullus,
and the rich land of sweltering Nicaea:
let us fly away to the famed cities of Asia.
Now my fluttering soul yearns to wander;
now my eager feet come alive with eagerness.
Farewell, dear bands of fellow travellers,
whom, having left home at the same time,
split paths carry home by different routes.

Latin is here http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Translation:Catullus_46

This rendition above isn't in hendecasyllablics. I mention this not because I know what I am talking about but because I am currently trying to learn to write it. So I am willing to be corrected.

The hendecasyllable is a line of eleven syllables, used in Ancient Greek and Latin quantitative verse as well as in medieval and modern European poetry.

The classical hendecasyllable is a quantitative meter used in Ancient Greece in Aeolic verse and in scolia, and later by the Roman poet Catullus. Each line has eleven syllables; hence the name, which comes from the Greek word for eleven. The heart of the line is the choriamb (- u u -). The pattern (also known as the Phalaecian) is as follows (using "-" for a long syllable, "u" for a short and "x" for an "anceps" or variable syllable). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendecasyllable

So this thread is dedicated to both the season of spring and hendecasyllabic verse--I know there are many talented members who can add more about this type of verse and maybe even find a better translation. You know who you are.

If that isn't your cup of tea, post your fave poem on SPRING which officially occurs today (in Sweden at the magical clock time of 23.45)

Yes, those in the land of Oz etc. can write about autumn if they'd rather.