Catullus #25 [translated by Molly Arden]

Catullus-5-sized
Catullus # 25

Thallus, you faggot: softer than the fur on a rabbit,

or down of pillow, or flap of ear, or phallus

dangling from your old man crotch, festooned with cobwebs,

are you, and still as greedy a thief as a gonif gale [?]

[line missing here]

Give me back the things you stole from me: my coat,

the handkerchief from Spain, my etchings from Bythinia,

things you claim your parents passed down to you.

Get your sticky hands off my stuff, and send them back

or else I swear I’ll take my rod and kick your ass

and leave my marks on your pathetic body

and make you twist like a toy battleship

in the bathtub of the sea when a hurricane hits.

— translated by Molly Arden