And Their Feet Move
And their feet move
rhythmically, as tender
feet of Cretan girls
danced once around an
altar of love, crushing
a circle in the soft
smooth flowering grass
Although They Are
Although they are
only breath, words
which I command
are immortal
Anactoria
Yes, Atthis, you may be sure
Even in Sardis
Anactoria will think often of us
of the life we shared here, when you seemed
the Goddess incarnate
to her and your singing pleased her best
Now among Lydian women she in her
turn stands first as the red-
fingered moon rising at sunset takes
precedence over stars around her;
her light spreads equally
on the salt sea and fields thick with bloom
Delicious dew pours down to freshen
roses, delicate thyme
and blossoming sweet clover; she wanders
aimlessly, thinking of gentle
Atthis, her heart hanging
heavy with longing in her little breast
She shouts aloud, Come! we know it;
thousand-eared night repeats that cry
across the sea shining between us
Awed by her splendor
soft as she is
she has almost
like a golden
---
Don't ask me what to wear
but we were dark:
Timas one time sent,
cow my heart with grief! Come,
from your father's house to your
oaring down mid-air from heaven
smiling your immortal smile
was it that my distracted
"to your love? Who, Sappho, is
"if she won't accept gifts, she
"love, although unwillingly..."
What my heart most hopes will
who listens intimately
laughter that makes my own
speak -- my tongue is broken;
hearing only my own ears
and I turn paler than
"Sappho, if you will not get
"Get up, unleash your suppleness,
"a spring, bathe in the water.
"tunic down from the clothes chest;
"Praxinoa, my child, will you please
"today we are going at last
"of its women; she will walk
"when she comes home from exile..."
But you forget everything
and that they are not
Frankly I wish I were dead.
a great deal; she said to
I said, ``Go, and be happy
``If you forget me, think
``all the violet tiaras,
``myrrh poured on your head
``while no voices chanted
I couldn't stand it
Some say a cavalry corps,
of our fleet are the finest
This is easily proved: did
choose as first among men one
love due her own blood, her own
being far away forget us,
would move me more than glitter
sacred to you; incense
apple branches, a young
down deep sleep; in meadows
scents the air. Queen! Cyprian!
The night is now
in bed alone
This is the dust of little
And she being far from home, girls
that loosener
reptile-like
sacred to you; incense
apple branches, a young
down deep sleep; in meadows
scents the air. Queen! Cyprian!
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Awed By Her Splendor
stars near the lovely
moon cover their own
bright faces
when she
is roundest and lights
earth with her silver
Before They Were Mothers
Before they were mothers
Leto and Niobe
had been the most
devoted of friends
Blame Aphrodite
It's no use
Mother dear, I
can't finish my
weaving
You may
blame Aphrodite
killed me with
love for that boy
Cleis
Sleep, darling
I have a small
daughter called
Cleis, who is
flower
I wouldn't
take all Croesus'
kingdom with love
thrown in, for her
I have no embroidered
headband from Sardis to
give you, Cleis, such as
I wore
and my mother
always said that in her
day a purple ribbon
looped in the hair was thought
to be high style indeed
a girl
whose hair is yellower than
torchlight should wear no
headdress but fresh flowers
Cyprian, In My Dream
Cyprian, in my dream
the folds of a purple
kerchief shadowed
your cheeks --- the one
a timid gift, all
the way from Phocaea
Drapple-thorned Aphrodite
Dapple-throned Aphrodite,
eternal daughterf God,
snare-knitter! Don't, I beg you,
as once when you heard my far-
off cry and, listening, stepped
gold car, to yoke the pair whose
beautiful thick-feathered wings
carried you to light swiftly
on dark earth; then, blissful one,
you asked, What ailed me now that
me me call you again? What
heart most wanted? "Whom has
Persuasion to bring round now
unfair to you? For, let her
run, she will soon run after;
will one day give them; and if
she won't love you -- she soon will
If ever -- come now! Relieve
this intolerable pain!
happen, make happen; you your-
self join forces on my side!
He Is More Than A Hero
He is more than a hero
he is a god in my eyes--
the man who is allowed
to sit beside you -- he
to the sweet murmur of
your voice, the enticing
heart beat fast. If I meet
you suddenly, I can'
a thin flame runs under
my skin; seeing nothing,
drumming, I drip with sweat;
trembling shakes my body
dry grass. At such times
death isn't far from me
I Have No Complaint
I have no complaint
prosperity that
the golden Muses
gave me was no
delusion: dead, I
won't be forgotten
I Took My Lyre
I took my lyre and said:
Come now, my heavenly
tortoise shell: become
a speaking instrument
In The Spring Twilight
In the spring twilight
the full moon is shining:
Girls take their places
as though around an altar
It Is The Muses
It is the Muses
who have caused me
to be honred: they
taught me their craft
It Was You, Atthis, Who Said
It was you, Atthis, who said
up and let us look at you
I shall never love you again!
lift off your Chian nightdress
and, like a lily leaning into
Cleis is bringing your best
pruple frock and the yellow
you will have a cloak thrown over
you and flowers crowning your hair...
roast nuts for our breakfast? One
of the gods is being good to us:
into Mitylene, our favorite
city, with Sappho, loveliest
among us like a mother with
all her daughters around her
Must I remind you, Cleis
Must I remind you, Cleis,
that sounds of grief
are unbecoming in
a poet's household?
suitable in ours?
No Word
I have had not one word from her
When she left, she wept
me, ``This parting must be
endured, Sappho. I go unwillingly.''
but remember (you know
well) whom you leave shackled by love
of our gifts to Aphrodite
and all the loveliness that we shared
braided rosebuds, dill and
crocus twined around your young neck
and on soft mats girls with
all that they most wished for beside them
choruses without ours,
no woodlot bloomed in spring without song...''
Of Course I Love You
Of course I love you
but if you love me,
marry a young woman!
to live with a young
man, I being older
Sanding By My Bed
Standing by my bed
in gold sandals
Dawn that very
moment awoke me
Tell Everyone
Tell everyone
now, today, I shall
sing beautifully for
my friends' pleasure
To Any Army Wife
To any army wife, in Sardis:
some infantry, some again,
will maintain that the swift oars
sight on dark earth; but I say
that whatever one loves, is.
not Helen --- she who had scanned
the flower of the world's manhood ---
who laid Troy's honor in ruin?
warped to his will, forgetting
child, she wandered far with him.
So Anactoria, although you
the dear sound of your footstep
and light glancing in your eyes
of Lydian horse or armored
tread of mainland infantry
To Aphrodite
You know the place: then
Leave Crete and come to us
waiting where the grove is
pleasantest, by precincts
smokes on the altar, cold
streams murmur through the
rose thicket shades the ground
and quivering leaves pour
where horses have grown sleek
among spring flowers, dill
Fill our gold cups with love
stirred into clear nectar
Tonight I've Watched
Tonight I've watched
the moon and then
the Pleiades
go down
half-gone; youth
goes; I am
Untitled
Mother, I cannot mind my wheel;
My fingers ache, my lips are dry;
Oh! if you felt the pain I feel!
But oh, who ever felt as I!
We Know This Much
We know this much
Death is an evil;
we have the gods'
word for it; they too
would die if death
were a good thing
We Put The Urn Abord Ship
We put the urn aboard ship
with this inscription:
Timas who unmarried was led
into Persephone's dark bedroom
her age took new-edged blades
to cut, in mourning for her,
these curls of their soft hair
We Shall Enjoy It
We shall enjoy it
as for him who finds
fault, may silliness
and sorrow take him!
With His Venom
With his venom
irresistible
and bittersweet
of limbs, Love
strikes me down
Without Warning
Without warning
as a whirlwind
swoops on an oak
Love shakes my heart
You Know The Place: Then
You know the place: then
Leave Crete and come to us
waiting where the grove is
pleasantest, by precincts
smokes on the altar, cold
streams murmur through the
rose thicket shades the ground
and quivering leaves pour
where horses have grown sleek
among spring flowers, dill
Fill our gold cups with love
stirred into clear nectar
You May Forget But
You may forget but
let me tell you
this: someone in
some future time
will think of us
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