TO A YOUNG GIRL
(free translation of Sappho’s Greek)
He seems like one of the gods –
that man you are facing:
who so closely attends to the fragrance within words;
to the light within your laughter….
It is that which confounds me:
each time I glance at you – I am without sound.
My tongue is locked; and at once, a fine fire
glistens beneath my skin. I turn blind; there is a
whirring in my ear.
I am awash with love – unable to be still….
I am drawn towards my dying.
Copyright © JENNY JOHNSON