I hold the orb in my cupped hand
The sceptre tilts at my command
You the subjugated land
I a queen my ship new manned
The curtained bed from post to post
Harbours all your rugged coast
One room our politics and law
The minibar ours to explore
And stock the hold for this first voyage
Setting customs, tongues and coinage
We resolve all border issues
With a box of three-ply tissues
Crush the larger world’s distress
To nothing in the trouser press
And make this conference of ours
Extend the inventory of stars
Isobel Williams’s illustrated Switch: The complete Catullus will be published this year
