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Ave Caesar

Ave Caesar, oh blinding August,

The greatest ruler of all time!

The sweetness of late fruit grows bitter,

Your light becomes less bearable

To the nearly blinded earth.

 

Ave Caesar, your day still shines bright

In columns of the groves, in forums of fields,

Your infinite Rome reaches into the azure sky

And it spreads and dissolves

And with a light stroke spills into the world.

 

Ave Caesar, frozen on your throne,

You are already a statue, marble, myth,

And only the sun dances on your crown,

And only on the azure silver temples

Scorched by the winds of years.

translated by Olena Jennings

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