Love
On one consecrated to holy service, who died young (Fragment 118) (Way)
Translated by Arthur S. Way (1920) · From Sappho and the Vigil of Venus (1920)
I am voiceless, yet speaketh my sepulchre for me with voice undying.
If one ask of me, maidens, I lay at your feet what story is mine:—
Aristo to Artemis vowed me in infancy, sanctifying
Her babe—she, Hermoclides' daughter, of old Saonaïades' line.
O Queen of all women, thy servant was she: to her prayers replying
Graciously, deign thou to honour our house with favour benign.
Codex Note
Way weaves several fragments in the same metre into one connected poem (his preface); the joins are his.
Cite this poem
MLA
Sappho. “On one consecrated to holy service, who died young (Fragment 118) (Way).” Translated by Arthur S. Way. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/sappho/155/.
Chicago
Sappho. “On one consecrated to holy service, who died young (Fragment 118) (Way).” Translated by Arthur S. Way. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/sappho/155/.
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