PARTING by SAPPHO

Truly I want to die.
Such was her weeping when she said Good-bye.

These words she said to me:
'What sad calamity!
Sappho, I leave you most unwillingly.'

To her I made reply:
'Go with good heart, but try
Not to forget our love in days gone by.

'Else let me call to mind,
If your heart proves unkind,
The soft delightful ways you leave behind.

'Many a coronet
Of rose and violet,
Crocus and dill upon your brow you set:

'Many a necklace too
Round your soft throat you threw,
Woven with me from buds of ravishing hue,

'And often balm you spread
Of myrrh upon my head,
And royal ointment on my hair you shed.'

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