For Those Pesky Little Latin Words…

I’ve found this wonderful piece (poetry? prose? something else?) in a couple places and just love it:

AT FIRST I did not know PRIMO
and ALMOST despaired of PAENE;
BUT I knew SED;
and WHILE I was studying DUM,
I SUDDENLY recognized SUBITO
and IMMEDIATELY STATIM became familiar.
AT THAT TIME TUM seemed hard
and I wrestled IN VAIN with FRUSTRA,
but I ALREADY knew IAM
and EVEN ETIAM;
and I SOON acquired MOX.
I NEVER recognize NUMQUAM
and FORMERLY I found QUONDAM difficult
while FOR A LONG TIME DIU puzzled me,
and I studied NEQUIQUAM TO NO PURPOSE,
but I have ALWAYS known SEMPER
and NOW I am sure of NUNC;
I can, THEREFORE, conquer IGITUR.
I am NOT YET familiar with NONDUM;
I know TAMEN, HOWEVER;
MOREOVER AUTEM is an old friend,
while TAM is SO simple
THAT UT will be easy.
I hope to learn SIMUL at THE SAME TIME
FOR I do know NAM
and have OFTEN met SAEPE.
THUS I was learning SIC
and had SCARCELY made sure of VIX,
when ONCE UPON A TIME I found I knew OLIM;
THEN I learned INDE,
THEN DEINDE,
and FINALLY I shall master DENIQUE.
MEANWHILE I am struggling with INTEREA,
and AS SOON AS I learn SIMUL ATQUE
I shall AT LENGTH know TANDEM,
and PERHAPS FORSITAN.
AFTERWARDS I mean to learn POSTEA,
and when I have met ITERUM a SECOND TIME
I hope to know QUOQUE ALSO.

It’s by that great author Anonymous. Hope it helps those words stick in your memory more!