Shorter Poems 19: Letter to Gennadius, ex-Proconsul

Glory of all Italy, who dwellest on the pleasant banks of Rubicon, ornament of the Roman bar second only to Cicero, well known to the peoples of Greece and to Egypt, land of my birth (for both have feared and loved thy rule), dost thou ask for poems to appease thy hungry throat?

By our friendship, I swear there are none at home. My verses soon learn to trust to their own wings and leave the nest, flying far afield nor ever returning to their humble home.