
The Poems of Sappho, by John Myers O'Hara, [1910], at sacred-texts.com
Kypris, hear my prayer to thee and the Nereids!
 Safely bring the ship of my brother homewards,
 Bring him back unharmed to the heart that loves him,
                 Throbbing remorseful;
Fair Immortal, banish from mind, I pray thee,
 Every discord's hint that of yore estranged us;
 Grant that never again dissension's hateful
                 Wrangle shall part us;
May he never in days to come remember
 Keen reproach of mine that had grieved him sorely;
 Words that broke my very heart when I heard them
                 Uttered by others;
Words that wounded deep and recurring often,
 Bowed his head with shame at the public banquet;
 Where my scorn, amid festal joy and laughter,
                 Sharpened the covert
Jests that stung his pride and assailed his folly,
 Slave-espoused when he, a Lesbian noble,
 Might have won the fairest in Mitylene,
                 Virgins the noblest;
Open slurs that linked his name with Doricha,
 Lovely slave that Xanthes had sold in Egypt;
 She whose wondrous charms the wealth of Charaxus
                 Ransomed from bondage.
Now that he is gone and my anger vanished,
 Keen regret and grief for the pain I gave him
 Pierce my heart, and fear of loss that is anguish
                 Darkens the daylight.