Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, AN EPITAPH, by MARCUS VALERIUS MARTIALIS


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

AN EPITAPH, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Fair canace this little tomb doth hide
Last Line: Lest her sweet tongue should force the fates to save her.
Alternate Author Name(s): Martial
Subject(s): Epitaphs


FAIR Canace this little tomb doth hide,
Who only seven Decembers told and died.
O cruelty! O sin! yet no man here
Must for so short a life let fall a tear;
Than death the kind was worse, what did infect
First seiz'd her mouth, and spoil'd her sweet aspect:
A horrid ill her kisses bit away,
And gave her almost lipless to the clay.
If Destiny so swift a flight did will her,
It might have found some other way to kill her;
But Death first struck her dumb, in haste to have her,
Lest her sweet tongue should force the Fates to save her.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net