Love
The Sleepless Lover (Mackail)
Translated by J. W. Mackail (1890) · From Select Epigrams from the Greek Anthology (1890)
Grasshopper, beguilement of my longings, luller asleep, grasshopper, muse of the cornfield, shrill-winged, natural mimic of the lyre, harp to me some tune of longing, striking thy vocal wings with thy dear feet, that so thou mayest rescue me from the all-wakeful trouble of my pains, grasshopper, as thou makest thy love-luring voice tremble on the string; and I will give thee gifts at dawn, ever-fresh groundsel and dewy drops sprayed from the mouths of the watering-can.
This translation is printed as prose in its source edition.
Cite this poem
MLA
Gadara, Meleager of. “The Sleepless Lover (Mackail).” Translated by J. W. Mackail. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/meleager/158/.
Chicago
Gadara, Meleager of. “The Sleepless Lover (Mackail).” Translated by J. W. Mackail. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/meleager/158/.
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