Ave Atque Vale (Hail and Farewell) .- ...- . .- - --.- ..- . ...- .- .-.. .

17" x 15'. Mercerized white cotton warp and tabby weft. Commercially dyed black mercerized cotton pattern weft.

Ave Atque Vale by Gaius Valerius Catullus.

Through many countries and over many seas
I have come, Brother, to these melancholy rites,
to show this final honour to the dead,
and speak (to what purpose?) to your silent ashes,
since now fate takes you, even you, from me.
Oh, Brother, ripped away from me so cruelly,
now at least take these last offerings, blessed
by the tradition of our parents, gifts to the dead.
Accept, by custom, what a brother’s tears drown,
and, for eternity, Brother, ‘Hail and Farewell’.