Epigrams
Behold how the fields are sown with the snowing -
The seeds of the North Wind, begotten near dawn.
While winter was shrieking, while gales were blowing,
The peace-making North Wind lay peace on the lawn.
How soon the shadows darken into night.
How soon we bear each other's presence ill.
How soon I find excuse to leave your sight -
And yet I yearned for love and love you still!
I long to see your smiling face,
To hear soft words from you,
But if I cannot have that grace. . . .
Your frowns are precious, too.
Light in the East is dawning now,
Dawning across the green-dewed trees.
Come to me, maiden, teach me how
Pleasure can ride the morning breeze.
Lilies and roses hide your brow,
Gaily entwining; on each of these
Light from the East is dawning now:
Sweet lady, smile; the hour will please.
Some years are rough mountains, some velvet-smooth plains,
Some scorched by the sunlight, some swamped by the rains,
Some bright with new flowers, some withering and sere,
But all have grown sweeter, because you are here.
Stars lighting the sea
That sunders our continents
Unite us in dreams.
In dreams worlds arise:
One imagination for
Separated minds.
The flowers of your years, the blossoms of your days,
Adrift in swirls of time, half lost in memory’s haze:
Collect them from the past, and cherish them with hope.
Then turn them into dreams, and let your dreaming lope
Beyond your passing sorrows, above your tangled fears -
To blossoming bright days, to flowering long years.
When time harasses you with stinging years,
Its nettles doubt, old age, heartbreak and fears,
Your soul may find a soothing remedy
By shedding drops of wine in place of tears.
When you stare at the stars, my star,
I wish that I could be
The face of heaven gazing with
Ten thousand eyes on thee.
Translated from the Greek Anthology
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