Will none say of Sappho,
Speaking of her lovers,
And the love they gave her,—
Joy and days and beauty,
Flute-playing and roses, 5
Song and wine and laughter,—
Will none, musing, murmur,
“Yet, for all the roses,
All the flutes and lovers,
Doubt not she was lonely 10
As the sea, whose cadence
Haunts the world for ever.”
LX
When I have departed,
Say but this behind me,
“Love was all her wisdom,
All her care.
“Well she kept love’s secret,— 5
Dared and never faltered,—
Laughed and never doubted
Love would win.
“Let the world’s rough triumph
Trample by above her, 10
She is safe forever
From all harm.
“In a land that knows not
Bitterness nor sorrow,
She has found out all 15
Of truth at last.”
LXI
There is no more to say now thou art still,
There is no more to do now thou art dead,
There is no more to know now thy clear mind
Is back returned unto the gods who gave it.
Now thou art gone the use of life is past, 5
The meaning and the glory and the pride,
There is no joyous friend to share the day,
And on the threshold no awaited shadow.