The Heart's Pain
Lines by Valerius Aeditus (1st Century B.C.)
Translated by Robert Lennon – Billings, Montana, USA - 19 February 2012
Dicere cum conor curam tibi, Pamphila, cordis,
quid mi abs te quaeram, verba labris abeunt,
per pectus manat subito subido mihi sudor:
sic tacitus, subidus, dum pudeo, pereo.
When I try to tell you, Pamphila, about my heart's pain,
I know what I should ask you; but the words disappear from my lips,
And I'm burning, soaking with sweat to the core:
Thus, silent and knowing, I'm ashamed and dying.