AD PYRRHAM
Horace: Book I, Ode 5.
_”Quis multa gracilis te puer in rosa”_
What lady-like youth in his wild aberrations
Is putting cologne on his brow?
For whom are the puffs and the blond transformations?
I wonder who’s kissing you now.
[Footnote: Paraphraser’s note: Horace beat the modern song
writers to this. The translation is literal
enough–“Quis…gracilis te puer…urget?”.]
Tee hee! I must laugh when I think of his finish,
Not wise to your ways and your rep.
Ha! ha! how his fancy for you will diminish!
I know, for I’m Jonathan Hep.
(Franklin Pierce Adams)
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Based on Topics: Books PoemsBased on Keywords: tee, diminish, cologne, jonathan, literal, rosa, quis, hep, enough-, multa, puer