Sappho: One Hundred Lyrics

by Bliss Carman

 

VI

 
PEER of the gods he seems,
Who in thy presence
Sits and hears close to him
Thy silver speech-tones
And lovely laughter.
5
 
Ah, but the heart flutters
Under my bosom,
When I behold thee
Even a moment;
Utterance leaves me;
10
 
My tongue is useless;
A subtle fire
Runs through my body;
My eyes are sightless,
And my ears ringing;
15
 
I flush with fever,
And a strong trembling
Lays hold upon me;
Paler than grass am I,
Half dead for madness.
20

Yet must I, greatly
Daring, adore thee,
As the adventurous
Sailor makes seaward
For the lost sky-line
25

And undiscovered
Fabulous islands,
Drawn by the lure of
Beauty and summer
And the sea’s secret.
30