THAT WARNED THE WRITER WHEN ON
PILGRIMAGE
About This Book
A varied collection of short poems mixing lyric meditation, satire, and balladry. The pieces range from war-tinged reflections and political commentary to convivial drinking songs, devotional verses, and playful dedications to friends and children. Many poems evoke rural and urban scenes with brisk, conversational diction, while others adopt formal stanzaic shapes for narrative effects. Themes include memory, faith, social critique, nature, and companionship, with tone shifting between humor and solemnity. The sequence alternates concise epigrams and longer narrative pieces, united by a rhythmic clarity and a direct, energetic voice that balances spontaneity with careful craft.
Matutinus adest ubi Vesper, et accipiens te
Saepe recusatum voces intelligit hospes
Rusticus ignotas notas, ac flumina tellus
Occupat—In sancto tum, tum, stans Aede caveto
Tonsuram Hirsuti Capitis, via namque pedestrem
Ferrea praeveniens cursum, peregrine, laborem
Pro pietate tua inceptum frustratur, amore
Antiqui Ritus alto sub Numine Romae.
Translation of the above:—
When early morning seems but eve
And they that still refuse receive:
When speech unknown men understand;
And floods are crossed upon dry land.
Within the Sacred Walls beware
The Shaven Head that boasts of Hair,
For when the road attains the rail
The Pilgrim’s great attempt shall fail.