Of the Achaeans, take me in my hour,
And set me in that dewy vale to bloom,
Perchance again with beauty and perfume
That love invite, although with kindlier fate—
Not of ignoble souls, but of the great.’
(Adaptation by Marion Mills Miller)
Sappho knows the story of Leda and the egg. Edmonds (E. 97) reads a new text: “They say that once upon a time Leda found hidden an egg of hyacinthine hue.” But I prefer the older, better version, which O’Hara renders:
Once on a time
They say that Leda found
Beneath the thyme