The Mother’s Lament | trans. from Homer’s Iliad

Infant; stay,

If you can find a sparrow in your heart

That flurries when you leave your counterpart

And swiftly begs you rise another day.

Child; stop,

If you respect the pity in my chest

That lulled you with the milk of tenderness

And swaddled you when evening turned to nox.

Young man; wait,

Dear plant, who rooted in my womb with teeth

Who leaves his mother leafless in her grief

Who tore apart her flowers in a day,

My Hector, pray

And fight within the walls that beg you, stay.

trans. by Hannah Ost from Homer’s Iliad.