PHAON

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

p. 79

p. 80 p. 81

PHILOMEL

Philomel in my garden,
Messenger sweet of springtide,
     From the bough of the olive tree utter
         Tidings ecstatic.

Linger long on thy olden
Note as in days remembered;
     Ere the Boatman that knew Aphrodite
         Ravished my vision.

Fatal glamor of beauty,
Beauty of Gods made mortal;
     Ah, before its delight I am ever
         Fearful of heaven.

Spring in breeze and the blossom,
Grasses and leaves and odors,
     On my heart with the breath of a vanished
         April is shaken;

Shaken with thrill and regret of
Lost caresses and kisses;
     Anactoria's memory, Atthis
         Never forgotten.

Philomel in my garden,
Messenger sweet of springtide,
     From the bough of the olive tree utter
         Tidings ecstatic.