The sun on the tide, the peach on the bough
by Sappho
Translated by Bliss Carman (1904) · From Sappho: One Hundred Lyrics, LXXIII
The sun on the tide, the peach on the bough,
The blue smoke over the hill,
And the shadows trailing the valley-side,
Make up the autumn day.
Ah, no, not half! Thou art not here
Under the bronze beech-leaves,
And thy lover’s soul like a lonely child
Roams through an empty room.
This poem and this translation are in the public domain. Source text: Project Gutenberg.