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Sappho:
One Hundred Lyrics
by
Bliss Carman
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VII
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THE
Cyprian came to thy cradle,
When thou wast little and small,
And said to the nurse who rocked thee
"Fear not thou for the child:"
She
shall be kindly favoured,
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And
fair and fashioned well,
As befits the Lesbian maidens
And those who are fated to love."
Hermes
came to thy cradle,
Resourceful, sagacious, serene,
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10 |
And
said, "The girl must have knowledge,
To lend her freedom and poise.
"Naught
will avail her beauty,
If she have not wit beside.
She shall be Hermes’ daughter, |
15 |
Passing
wise in her day."
Great
Pan came to thy cradle,
With calm of the deepest hills,
And smiled, "They have forgotten
The veriest power of life.
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"To kindle her shapely beauty,
And illumine her mind withal,
I give to the little person
The glowing and craving soul." |
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