Love

Cupid Swallowed

by Leigh Hunt 1784–1859

Translated by Leigh Hunt (1857) · From The Poetical Works of Leigh Hunt (1857)

Love

T'other day as I was twining
Roses, for a crown to dine in,
What, of all things, 'midst the heap
Should I light on, fast asleep,
But the little desperate elf,
The tiny traitor. Love himself !
By the wings I pinch'd him up
Like a bee, and in a cup
Of my wine I plung'd and sank him,
And what d'ye think I did ? — I drank him.
'Faith, I thought him dead. Not he !
There he lives with tenfold glee ;
And now this moment with his wings
I feel him tickling my heart-strings.

✦ ✦ ✦

Leigh Hunt's paraphrase from the Greek Anthology.

MLA

Hunt, Leigh. “Cupid Swallowed.” Translated by Leigh Hunt. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/hunt/78/.

Chicago

Hunt, Leigh. “Cupid Swallowed.” Translated by Leigh Hunt. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/hunt/78/.

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