XLV TO THE VESSEL
Mitchell S. (Mitchell Starrett) Buck translation
BEAUTIFUL ship that has brought me here, along the shores of Ionia, I abandon thee to the glistening waves, and, with a light foot, I leap upon the beach.
Thou wilt return to the country where the virgin is the friend of the nymphs. Forget not to thank those invisible counsellors, and carry them, as an offering, this branch plucked by my hands.
Thou wert once a pine, and, on the mountains, the vast hot Notos shook thy branches with their squirrels and birds.
Let Boreos be now thy guide and push thee softly toward the port, black ship, escorted by dolphins, at the will of the kindly sea.