Daughter of Pelias, with farewell from me, I' th' house of Hades, have thy unsunned home! Let Hades know, the dark-haired deity, -- And he who sits to row and steer alike, Old corpse-conductor, let him know he bears Over the Acherontian lake, this time, I' the two-oared boat, the best -- oh, best by far Of womanking! For thee, Alkestis Queen! Many a time those haunters of the Muse Shall sing thee to the seven-stringed mountain-shell, And glorify in hymns that need no harp, At Sparta when the cycle comes about, And that Karneian month wherein the moon Rises and never sets the whole night through. So too at splendid and and magnificent Athenai. Such the spread of thy renown, And such the lay that, dying, thou hast left Singer and sayer. O that I availed Of my own might to send thee once again From Hades' hall, Kokutos' stream, by help O' the oar that dips the river, back to day! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONNET: 13. OUT OF CATALLUS by GAIUS VALERIUS CATULLUS THE EMPEROR'S BIRD'S-NEST by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW OPPORTUNITY by NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI LOST HAPPINESS by JOHANNA AMBROSIUS TO THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON ON HEARING HIM MISPRAISED by MATTHEW ARNOLD |