Ode To A Loved One
Javolenus
Another Sappho poem. I’ll add the various stems as downloads, though maybe not all in one go. I’ll paste the lyrics below:
ODE TO A LOVED ONE (SAPPHO, c. 600 BC)
Blest as immortal gods is he
The youth who fondly sits by thee
And hears and sees thee all the while
Softly speak, sweetly smile.
T’was this deprived my soul of rest
Raised such tumult in my breast
For while I gazed in transport tossed
My breath was gone, my voice was lost.
My body glowed, the subtle flame
Ran quick through all my vital frame
Over my eyes darkness hung
My ears with hollow murmurs rung.
In a cold fever I was chilled
My blood with gentle horror thrilled
My feeble pulse forgot to play
I fainted, sank and died away.
(Adapted from a translation by Ambrose Phillips, c. 1893)
ODE TO A LOVED ONE (SAPPHO, c. 600 BC)
Blest as immortal gods is he
The youth who fondly sits by thee
And hears and sees thee all the while
Softly speak, sweetly smile.
T’was this deprived my soul of rest
Raised such tumult in my breast
For while I gazed in transport tossed
My breath was gone, my voice was lost.
My body glowed, the subtle flame
Ran quick through all my vital frame
Over my eyes darkness hung
My ears with hollow murmurs rung.
In a cold fever I was chilled
My blood with gentle horror thrilled
My feeble pulse forgot to play
I fainted, sank and died away.
(Adapted from a translation by Ambrose Phillips, c. 1893)