The Swallow

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

p. 83

THE SWALLOW

Daughter of Pandion, lovely
Swallow that veers at my window,
Swift on the flood of the sunshine
        Darting thy shadow;

What is thy innocent purpose,
Why dost thou hover and haunt me?
Is it a kinship of sorrow
        Brings thee anear me?

Must thou forever be tongueless,
Flying in fear of Tereus?
Must he for Itys pursue thee,
        Changed to a lapwing?

Tireless of pinion and never
Resting on bush or the branches,
Close to the earth, up the azure,
        Over the treetops;

After thy wing in its madness
Follows my glance, as a flitting
Child on the track of its mother
        Hastens in silence.

Daughter of Pandion, lovely
Swallow that veers at my window,
Hast thou a message from Cyprus
        Telling of Phaon?