Catullus 2

Cat. 2.1Passer, dēliciae meae puellae,
quīcum lūdere, quem in sinū tenēre,
cui prīmum digitum dare adpetentī
et ācrīs solet incitāre morsūs,
5cum dēsīderiō meō nitentī
cārum nesciō quid libet iocārī
(et sōlāciolum suī dolōris,
crēdō, ut tum gravis adquiēscat ardor),
tēcum lūdere sīcut ipsa possem
10et trīstīs animī levāre cūrās!

Sparrow, my girl's darling, whom she likes to play with, to hold in her lap, to offer her fingertip to as you peck at it, and to provoke to sharp bites, when my shining love takes a fancy to some sweet game (a little comfort for her pain, I suppose, so that her burning passion may then settle down): if only I could play with you as she does and lighten the sad cares of my heart!

Note. One long sentence addressed to the sparrow. quīcum (= quōcum, 'with whom') … quem … cui: three relative clauses all depending on solet, 'with whom she is used to play, whom to hold …'. appetentī: dative participle, 'to you as you peck'. cum … libet: 'when it pleases' my shining desire (dēsīderiō, i.e. the girl he longs for) to play. The parenthesis (et sōlāciolum …) explains her game: a small comfort for her pain. tēcum lūdere … possem: an unfulfilled wish, 'if only I could play with you'.

Cat. 2.11Tam grātum est mihi quam ferunt puellae
pernīcī aureolum fuisse mālum,
quod zōnam solvit diū ligātam.

It is as welcome to me as the golden apple was, they say, to the swift-footed girl, the apple that loosed her girdle, so long tied.

Note. The girl who was 'swift-footed' (pernīcī) is Atalanta, who agreed to marry whoever could outrun her; Hippomenes won by dropping golden apples. zōnam solvit: untying the girdle stands for marriage. quam ferunt: 'as they say'. Many editors think this couplet belongs to a different poem.