Page:Sappho and the Vigil of Venus (1920).djvu/42

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O happy bridegroom! it cometh to-day,
The bridal thine heart hath longed for aye!
At last shall she be thine own, the maid
For whom thou hast sighed, for whom thou hast prayed.
For none other maiden beneath the skies,
O bridegroom, was like unto her in thine eyes.
Whereunto may I liken thee, bridegroom dear?
To a green vine-shoot in the spring of the year.
Now, now let the bridegroom rejoice, for the bride
Into the hall cometh joyful-eyed.
Ethereal-pale is her lovely face.
Hail, bridegroom! Hail, bride, queenly in grace!
How goodly to see thy lord stands there!
And his goodness will keep him for thee ever fair.
Ah, doth she, ah doth she regretfully brood?—
Does her heart still yearn after maidenhood?
Nay, not in this hour she cries:
"Maidenhood, maidenhood, whither away
Forsaking me?"
While maidenhood replies:
"Not again unto thee shall I come for aye,
Not again unto thee!"
No more, no more doth she chant
Proud young virginity's vaunt:
"As the sweet-apple flames on the tip of a spray against the sky,
At its uttermost point, which the gleaners forgat, and passed it by—