(Sappho XXIII) <br /> I loved thee, Atthis, in the long ago, <br /> When the great oleanders were in flower <br /> In the broad herded meadows full of sun. <br /> And we would often at the fall of dusk <br /> Wander together by the silver stream, <br /> When the soft grass-heads were all wet with dew <br /> And purple-misted in the fading light. <br /> And joy I knew and sorrow at thy voice, <br /> And the superb magnificence of love,— <br /> The loneliness that saddens solitude, <br /> And the sweet speech that makes it durable,— <br /> The bitter longing and the keen desire, <br /> The sweet companionship through quiet days <br /> In the slow ample beauty of the world, <br /> And the unutterable glad release <br /> Within the temple of the holy night. <br /> O Atthis, how I loved thee long ago <br /> In that fair perished summer by the sea!<br /><br />Bliss Carman<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/i-loved-thee-atthis-in-the-long-ago/
