- Carmen Possum
"Carmen Possum" is a popular 80-line macaronic poem written in a mix of
Latin and English. Its author is unknown, but given its theme and language it can be surmised that he or she was from theUnited States , and either a teacher or a student of Latin.The poem takes off from a play of words in the title: "possum" means "I can" in Latin, and "
opossum " in colloquial English. Thus, while "carmen possum" sounds like valid Latin, it only makes sense when translated as "The Opossum's Song".The poem can be used as a pedagogical device for elementary Latin teaching. The language mix includes vocabulary, morphology ("turnus") and grammar ("trunkum longum").
"Carmen Possum" is also a musical piece by
Normand Lockwood .The poem
:THE NOX was lit by lux of Luna,:And 'twas a nox most opportuna:To catch a possum or a coona;:For nix was scattered o'er this mundus,:A shallow nix, et non profundus.:On sic a nox with canis unus,:Two boys went out to hunt for coonus.:The corpus of this bonus canis:Was full as long as octo span is,:But brevior legs had canis never:Quam had hic dog; et bonus clever.:Some used to say, in stultum jocum:Quod a field was too small locum:For sic a dog to make a turnus:Circum self from stem to sternus.:Unis canis, duo puer,:Nunquam braver, nunquam truer,:Quam hoc trio nunquam fuit,:If there was I never knew it.:This bonus dog had one bad habit,:Amabat much to tree a rabbit,:Amabat plus to chase a rattus,:Amabat bene tree a cattus.:But on this nixy moonlight night:This old canis did just right.:Nunquam treed a starving rattus,:Nunquam chased a starving cattus,:But sucurrit on, intentus:On the track and on the scentus,:Till he trees a possum strongum,:In a hollow trunkum longum.:Loud he barked in horrid bellum,:Seemed on terra vehit pellum.:Quickly ran the duo puer:Mors of possum to secure.:Quam venerit, one began:To chop away like quisque man.:Soon the axe went through the truncum:Soon he hit it all kerchunkum;:Combat deepens, on ye braves!:Canis, pueri et staves:As his powers non longius carry,:Possum potest non pugnare.:On the nix his corpus lieth.:Down to Hades spirit flieth,:Joyful pueri, canis bonus,:Think him dead as any stonus.:Now they seek their pater's domo,:Feeling proud as any homo,:Knowing, certe, they will blossom:Into heroes, when with possum:They arrive, narrabunt story,:Plenus blood et plenior glory.:Pompey, David, Samson, Caesar,:Cyrus, Black Hawk, Shalmanezer!:Tell me where est now the gloria,:Where the honors of victoria?:Nunc a domum narrent story,:Plenus sanguine, tragic, gory.:Pater praiseth, likewise mater,:Wonders greatly younger frater.:Possum leave they on the mundus,:Go themselves to sleep profundus,:Somniunt possums slain in battle,:Strong as ursae, large as cattle.:When nox gives way to lux of morning,:Albam terram much adorning,:Up they jump to see the varmin,:Of the which this is the carmen.:Lo! possum est resurrectum!:Ecce pueri dejectum,:Ne relinquit back behind him,:Et the pueri never find him.:Cruel possum! bestia vilest,:How the pueros thou beguilest!:Pueri think non plus of Caesar,:Go ad Orcum, Shalmanezer,:Take your laurels, cum the honor,:Since ista possum is a goner!
External links
* [http://www.kzu.ch/fach/as/material/Texte_lat/possum/carmen.htm text of poem] (with typos).
* [http://www-libraries.colorado.edu/amrc/ead/html/lock.html Guide to Normand Lockwood collection at AMRC, UCB] .
* [http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/c/cme/cme-idx?type=HTML&rgn=DIV1&byte=13947257 The Talents] , play 24 from the "Towneley Plays" at U. Michigan.
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