Aphrodite's Praise

The Poems of Sappho, by John Myers O'Hara, [1910], at sacred-texts.com

p. 51

APHRODITE'S PRAISE

O Sappho, why art thou ever
Singing with praises the blessed
      Queen of the heaven?

Why does the heart in thy bosom
Ever revert in its yearning
      Throb to the Goddess?

Why are thy senses unsated
Ever in quest of elusive
      Love that is deathless?

Ah, gracious Daughter of Cyprus,
Never can I as a mortal
      Tire of thy service.

Thou art the breath of my body,
The blood in my veins, and the glowing
      Pulse of my bosom.

Omnipotent, burning, resistless,
Thou art the passion that shaking
      Masters me ever.

Thou art the crisis of rapture
Relaxing my limbs, and the melting
      Ebb of emotion;

Bringing the tears to my lashes,
Sighs to my lips, in the swooning
      Excess of passion.

O golden-crowned Aphrodite,
Grant I shall ever be grateful,
      Sure of thy favor;

Worthy the lot of thy priestess,
Supreme in the song that forever
      Rings with thy praises.