Poems List
Explore poems from our collection
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 …
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, <…
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 a…
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. <…
Words
Words
Although they are
only breath, words
which I command
are immortal
Sappho
tr. Barnard
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 …
With his venom
With his venom
With his venom
irresistible
and bittersweet
that loosener
of limbs, Love
reptile-like
strikes me down
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 P…
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; …
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;
…
The Muses
The Muses
It is the Muses
who have caused me
to be honred: they
taught me their craft
Sappho
tr. Barnard
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 …
Standing by my bed
Standing by my bed
Standing by my bed
in gold sandals
Dawn that very
moment awoke me
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 …
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! i…
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, <…
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
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 …
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…
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 almo…
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
He is more than a hero
He is more than a hero
He is more than a hero
he is a god in my eyes--
the man who is allowed
to sit beside you -- he
who listens intimat…
I have no complaint
I have no complaint
I have no complaint
prosperity that
the golden Muses
gave me was no
delusion: dead, I
won't be forgotten