Invitae puellae - a self-made elegy

This blog post is my first attempt at writing a poem in Latin. I hope you enjoy what I've fabricated in the couple of hours I spent on it. It is a short poem in the tradition of the Roman elegists I've been reading and must feel familiar for those who have read my translations of Ovid and Tibullus. The Latin is a bit stale since I am not experienced (like most people) in writing Latin poetry. That being said, I gave careful consideration to the meter, so feel free to read it out loud. You should be hearing the elegiac couplet as you are reading it.

Invitae puellae 

Quidne, puella, locuti nil, haud basia damus?
Non ultro mihi dedisti, peto oscula te.
Quid faciam ut omnia tuta videntur fuisse.
Numquam vir scit quem femina multum amet.
Haec desiderium scriptorum omnium habet,
illi nautae placet, modo militibus
illa capta est, nemini contingit ut nudare
mollem florem. Quid saevus amor malignust ?


Solum optem mea basia non nimium doluisse.
Et tibi caeli tandem venerem referant.

Why, girly, do we completely leave out kissing while not even speaking?
You’ve not given them voluntarily; I ask you for kisses.
What must I do so everything seems to be safe?
Never does a man know whom a woman loves the most.
She here has a preference for all the writers,
she has a likening for sailors, she can only be captivated
by soldiers, and nobody has succeeded in getting that delicate
flower naked. Why is wild love so malicious?

I only hope that my kisses were not too great of a bother.
And may the gods finally give you back your love.



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