Love Shakes My Heart

Ancient Greek poetry from Sappho this week. She reminds me a bit of Emily Dickinson. Sappho mentions Greek gods and goddesses often in her poetry, so when she refers to "Dawn," she imagines someone like this:

From Sappho: A New Translation, by Mary Barnard, 1958

Standing by my bed

In gold sandals
Dawn that very
moment awoke me

~~~~~~~~

It's no use

Mother dear, I
can't finish my
weaving
You may
blame Aphrodite

soft as she is

she has almost
killed me with
love for that boy

~~~~~~~~

Without warning

As a whirlwind
swoops on an oak
Love shakes my heart

~~~~~~~~

It is clear now:

Neither honey nor
the honey bee is
to be mine again

~~~~~~~~

With his venom

Irresistible
and bittersweet

that loosener
of limbs, Love

reptile-like
strikes me down

~~~~~~~~~

We know this much

Death is an evil;
we have the gods'
words for it; they too
would die if death
were a good thing