SAPPHO: FRAGMENTS
translation by Cassandra BORGES, scholar of
philology.
Undying Aphrodite on
the dappled throne,
Zeus-child, plot-weaver, I
beg you:
do not conquer with woes and
pains,
lady, my
spirit;
but
come here, if ever at any time
you heard my
prayers from a distance
and heeded them, and
leaving your father’s golden
house you
came,
yoking your chariot. And
beautiful swift
sparrows brought you over the
dark earth,
beating their wings thick and fast
down from heaven
through
midair,
and quickly they arrived. But
you, blessed one,
you smiled all over your
immortal face
and asked me what was wrong this
time—why I was
calling you this
time—
what
I most of all want to happen
in my wild heart.
“Whom shall I persuade
this time back
into your affection? Who, Sappho,
is doing you
wrong?
For even if she flees, she will
soon be pursuing;
if she won’t receive
gifts, she will be giving them;
if she does not
love, she soon will love,
even
unwilling.”
Come to me then now,
release me from
these harsh sorrows; whatever
my heart
wishes will be fulfilled, fulfill it;
you
must be my ally.
Posted: Sunday - October 30, 2005 at 11:11 PM