9 Poems of Sappho
Be here, by me
But you, O Dika, wreathe lovely garlands in your hair,
Come to me here from Crete
Girls, you be ardent for the fragrant-blossomed
Glittering-Minded deathless Aphrodite
He's equal with the Gods, that man
Hesperus, you bring back again
I have a daughter, golden
Some say horsemen, some say warriors
........
Be here, by me
_
Be here, by me,
Lady Hera, I pray
Who answered the Atreides,
_
Glorious kings.
They gained great things
There, and at sea,
_
And came towards Lesbos,
Their home path barred
Till they called to you, to Zeus
_
Of suppliants, to Dionysus, Thyone's
Lovely child: be kind now,
Help me, as you helped them...
........
But you, O Dika, wreathe lovely garlands in your hair,
_
But you, O Dika, wreathe lovely garlands in your hair,
Weave shoots of dill together, with slender hands,
For the Graces prefer those who are wearing flowers,
_
And turn away from those who go uncrowned.
........
Come to me here from Crete
_
Come to me here from Crete,
To this holy temple, where
Your lovely apple grove stands,
_
And your altars that flicker
With incense.
And below the apple branches, cold
_
Clear water sounds, everything shadowed
By roses, and sleep that falls from
Bright shaking leaves.
_
And a pasture for horses blossoms
With the flowers of spring, and breezes
Are flowing here like honey:
_
Come to me here,
Here, Cyprian, delicately taking
Nectar in golden cups
_
Mixed with a festive joy,
And pour.
........
Girls, you be ardent for the fragrant-blossomed
_
Girls, you be ardent for the fragrant-blossomed
Muses' lovely gifts, for the clear melodious lyre:
But now old age has seized my tender body,
_
Now my hair is white, and no longer dark.
My heart's heavy, my legs won't support me,
_
That once were fleet as fawns, in the dance.
I grieve often for my state; what can I do?
Being human, there's no way not to grow old.
_
Rosy-armed Dawn, they say, love-smitten,
Once carried Tithonus off to the world's end:
Handsome and young he was then, yet at last
_
Grey age caught that spouse of an immortal wife.
........
Glittering-Minded deathless Aphrodite
_
Glittering-Minded deathless Aphrodite,
I beg you, Zeus's daughter, weaver of snares,
Don't shatter my heart with fierce
_
Pain, goddess,
But come now, if ever before
You heard my voice, far off, and listened,
_
And left your father's golden house,
And came,
Yoking your chariot. Lovely the swift
_
Sparrows that brought you over black earth
A whirring of wings through mid-air
Down the sky.
_
They came. And you, sacred one,
Smiling with deathless face, asking
What now, while I suffer: why now
_
I cry out to you, again:
What now I desire above all in my
Mad heart. ÔWhom now, shall I persuade
_
To admit you again to her love,
Sappho, who wrongs you now?
If she runs now she'll follow later,
_
If she refuses gifts she'll give them.
If she loves not, now, she'll soon
Love against her will.
_
Come to me now, then, free me
From aching care, and win me
All my heart longs to win. You,
_
Be my friend.
........
He's equal with the Gods, that man
_
He's equal with the Gods, that man
Who sits across from you,
Face to face, close enough, to sip
_
Your voice's sweetness,
And what excites my mind,
Your laughter, glittering. So,
_
When I see you, for a moment,
My voice goes,
My tongue freezes. Fire,
_
Delicate fire, in the flesh.
Blind, stunned, the sound
Of thunder, in my ears.
_
Shivering with sweat, cold
Tremors over the skin,
I turn the colour of dead grass,
_
And I'm an inch from dying.
........
Hesperus, you bring back again
_
Hesperus, you bring back again
What the dawn light scatters,
Bringing the sheep: bringing the kid:
_
Bringing the little child back to its mother.
........
I have a daughter, golden
_
I have a daughter, golden,
Beautiful, like a flower -
Kleis, my love -
_
And I would not exchange her for
All the riches of Lydia......
........
Some say horsemen, some say warriors
_
Some say horsemen, some say warriors,
Some say a fleet of ships is the loveliest
Vision in this dark world, but I say it's
_
What you love.
It's easy to make this clear to everyone,
Since Helen, she who outshone
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All others in beauty, left
A fine husband,
And headed for Troy
_
Without a thought for
Her daughter, her dear parents...
Led astray....
_
And I recall Anaktoria, whose sweet step
Or that flicker of light on her face,
I'd rather see than Lydian chariots
_
Or the armed ranks of the hoplites.