Poems List
Explore poems from our collection
Oh You Are Coming
"Oh You Are Coming"
Oh you are coming, coming, coming,
How will hungry Time put by the hours till then? --
But why does it anger my heart to long so
For …
My Heart Is Heavy
"My Heart Is Heavy"
My heart is heavy with many a song
Like ripe fruit bearing down the tree,
But I can never give you one --
My songs do not belong to m…
It Will Not Change
"It Will Not Change"
It will not change now
After so many years;
Life has not broken it
With parting or tears;
Death will not alter it,
It wi…
I Thought of You
"I Thought of You"
I thought of you and how you love this beauty,
And walking up the long beach all alone
I heard the waves breaking in measured thunder
…
I Am Not Yours
"I Am Not Yours"
I am not yours, not lost in you,
Not lost, although I long to be
Lost as a candle lit at noon,
Lost as a snowflake in the sea.
You…
Did You Never Know?
"Did You Never Know?"
Did you never know, long ago, how much you loved me --
That your love would never lessen and never go?
You were young then, proud and fre…
You know the place: then
You know the place: then
You know the place: then
Leave Crete and come to us
waiting where the grove is
pleasantest, by precincts
sacred to you; in…
Words
Words
Although they are
only breath, words
which I command
are immortal
Sappho
tr. Barnard
We put the urn abord ship
We put the urn abord ship
We put the urn aboard ship
with this inscription:
This is the dust of little
Timas who unmarried was led
into Persephone'…
With his venom
With his venom
With his venom
irresistible
and bittersweet
that loosener
of limbs, Love
reptile-like
strikes me down
Tonight I've watched
Tonight I've watched
Tonight I've watched
the moon and then
the Pleiades
go down
The night is now
half-gone; youth
goes; I am
in …
To Evening
To Evening
O HESPERUS! Thou bringest all things home;
All that the garish day hath scattered wide;
The sheep, the goat, back to the welcome fold;
Thou br…
To any army wife, in Sardis:
To any army wife, in Sardis:
To any army wife, in Sardis:
Some say a cavalry corps,
some infantry, some again,
will maintain that the swift oars
of…
The Muses
The Muses
It is the Muses
who have caused me
to be honred: they
taught me their craft
Sappho
tr. Barnard
The Anactoria Poem
The Anactoria Poem
Some say thronging cavalry, some say foot soldiers,
others call a fleet the most beautiful of
sights the dark earth offers, but I say it's w…
Standing by my bed
Standing by my bed
Standing by my bed
in gold sandals
Dawn that very
moment awoke me
Song of The Rose
Song of The Rose
F Zeus chose us a King of the flowers in his mirth,
He would call to the rose, and would royally crown it;
For the rose, ho, the rose! is the …
Prayer to Our Lady of Paphos
Prayer to Our Lady of Paphos
Dapple-throned Aphrodite,
eternal daughter of God,
snare-knitter! Don't, I beg you,
cow my heart with grief! Come,
as …
Ode to a Loved One
Ode to a Loved One
LEST as the immortal gods is he,
The youth who fondly sits by thee,
And hears and sees thee, all the while,
Softly speaks and sweetly …
Must I remind you, Clesis,
Must I remind you, Clesis,
Must I remind you, Cleis,
that sounds of grief
are unbecmoming in
a poet's household?
and that they are not
suitab…
It's no use
It's no use
It's no use
Mother dear, I
can't finish my
weaving
You may
blame Aphrodite
soft as she is
she has almost
killed …
Like the gods. . .
Like the gods. . .
In my eyes he matches the gods, that man who
sits there facing you--any man whatever--
listening from closeby to the sweetness of your
I took my lyre and said
I took my lyre and said
I took my lyre and said:
Come now, my heavenly
tortoise shell: become
a speaking instrument
It is the Muses
It is the Muses
It is the Muses
who have caused me
to be honred: they
taught me their craft