#original latin composition

[amores-iacobi]

mīte nec in terrā nec in altō caeruleō sum;

sed spatium versūs in numerumque colō.

I am neither on the fruitful earth nor in the deep blue sea; rather I inhabit the meter and rhythm of verse.

[amores-iacobi]

I wish I could scratch her completely off my heart's memorial, and yet she seems to me to be a part of me.

[amores-iacobi]

Who has placed thee in my heart and who has lit the flame? Who locked thee in my mind and who tends the hearth?

Did Love strike me in with an arrow when I looked upon thee? Did Venus whisper sacred things of thee when I was near?

Did Prometheus bestow me with fires for my heart? Does Vesta now throw on wood and tend the flame?

I ask, "Do the gods insert this love into my mind, or is this desire already turned into a harsh goddess to me?"

[amores-iacobi]

Who has placed you into my heart and who has lit this passion? Who locked you in my mind and who fosters at the hearth?

[amores-iacobi]

When I die, write whatever these poems are in a book, so that all this might benefit and protect someone.

maybe i shouldntve translated this one. i like the first line in latin, but i like the second one more in my original english ("maybe someone will benefit from all this"). oh well.

[amores-iacobi]

esse māne dīcis, amor, dracōnem: asperum, squāmīs, facis ignis aurīs. tē resurgente aspiciam igne: dulcem,      somniculōsam.

“You say, love, that in the morning you are a dragon: Savage, with scales, breaths of torch and fire. With the light rising again, let me see you: sweet,     Sleepy.”

[amores-iacobi]

tēcum spēs mihi amōris est ruenda.

“I must destroy the hope of love with you.”