And something from the past just comes and stares into my soul

[sovay]

My poem "Anthology" has been accepted by Cabinet des Fées. It quotes Sappho. Before the Pleiades start setting, goodnight.

. . . ἔγω δὲ κῆν᾽ ὄτ-
τω τις ἔραται . . .

Comments

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Most welcome!

Yes, although κάλλιστον belongs to the previous phrase:

Right. It's tricksome excerpting things like that, as if the situation weren't already tricksome enough as it were.

Rendering elision into English annoys me. Others [say a host] of ships takes up too much repetition, but there's a limit to how much an uninflected language can be torqued to match the original. I have no idea if the translation I've just provided is comprehensible without bracketed help.

Yes, it is a frustrating situation.

It's comprehensible to me, but I've read a number of different translations of that poem at one time or another, so my comprehension probably doesn't count.

No, it's another fragment of Sappho:

Right, that one. I'd forgot about the Pleiades being in it. Mea culpa.

At least this one breaks down into English-compliant intonation units . . . (And even if it did not, I would still find it beautiful.)

Agreed on all counts. (It's a little too close to home, but that's likely a part of what makes it beautiful.)