Sappho's Poem to Anactoria Translation Copyright © Cameron Hawke Smith 2010,
Music: Copyright © Colin Whyles 2010

Sung by Carol Bleiker. Lute by Colin Whyles

I’d say that guy’s in heaven
whose luck the gods have given
to sit with you face to face
and hear your sweet voice,

and hear your sexy laughter
that makes the heartbeat falter.
A glance just a second long
disables my tongue,

it sticks in my mouth, a thin
flame creeps under my skin,
my eyes distinguish nothing,
my ears are buzzing,

a sweat pours over me, as
my body shakes, colourless
as straw – to myself almost
nothing but a ghost.