Once as a too, too lissome
Maiden was plucking a blossom . . .
Artemis made the pledge no god can break:
‘Upon my head and all that I hold dear,
I shall remain a maid, a mountaineer
Hunting on summits — grant this for my sake.’
The Father of the Blesséd gave the nod — yes;
And all the gods pronounced her Frontier Goddess
And Slayer of Stags, and Eros never crosses
Her path . . .
Sappho (c620 - c570 BC) Lesbos, Ancient Greece
Translated by Aaron Poochigian
Source: Come Close, Penguin Classics, 2015
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