ON THE BURIAL OF HIS BROTHER

by: Caius Valerius Catullus (87-57 B.C.)

Y ways remote and distant waters sped,

Brother, to thy sad graveside am I come,

That I may give the last gifts to the dead,

And vainly parley with thine ashes dumb;

Since She who now bestows and denies

Hath ta'en thee, hapless brother from mine eyes.

But lo! these gifts, the heirlooms of past years,

Are made sad things to grace thy coffin-shell;

Take them, all drenchèd with a brother's tears,

And, brother, for all time, hail and farewell.

This English translation of Catullus' "On the Burial of his Brother" was composed by Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898).

• Purchase books by Catullus
• Browse other poems on death