The rarest bird to thee is gone;
Take thou once more my malison.
How swollen and red with weeping, see,
My fair one’s eyes, and all through thee.[37]
Like most educated Romans, Catullus had a great love for the country. His joy in returning to his country seat on the peninsula of Sirmio forms the subject of a charming little poem:
Gem of all isthmuses and isles that lie,
Fresh or salt water’s children, in clear lake
Or ampler ocean; with what joy do I
Approach thee, Sirmio! Oh! am I awake,
Or dream that once again mine eye beholds