by Brett Rutherford
after
Callimachus, Epigram 23
Read closely, passer-by.
That there was Battus,
whose father was the warrior
Callimachus, and whose son
was Callimachus the poet,
this stone attests. That one
led an army, and the other
conquered with pen and scroll,
should not surprise you.
Battus stands between
as son and sire, and when
the Muses beamed their eyes
upon a child who smiled
and did not look away,
they were his guardians,
not just in easy youth
but later, when his head
was bowed and gray.
Walk on, then. Now you know.
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