FRAGMENT 31
Faint I Mock Enough, is as THEY I sin(n/g)ing—
Even over hot is {In}sane this Toying.
Done is I with Pleasure: Adieu, Phony!is
That is, AWAY go!is
Kind of Glacier in here, the Owing to Ma('am)(an)—is
Cardigan & Stealth—this this deft Erasing.is
O Scar IS—I do broach it—O me Phony,is
Sudden [&] Achy.is
All the Cameramen, all the Glossy slept on—is
Nautic Chrome for upending dramakinder's Eyes.is
O but This we Do & More a'Home peer,is
(by) Sea or by Talkie:is
Cock the mirror's catchingness! Cheat I (TRAUMAis
PASSION, GREED) if Clorox® the Terra? Poias,is
We who naked, oily & “Going twice” &is
Feigning the Autism—is
All up in die Tollhäuser play Piñatas.
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Fragment 31 (transliteration)
Phainetai moi kenos isos theoisinemmen'oner, hottis enantios toi
isdanei kai plasion adu phonei-
sas upakouei
kai gelaisas imeroën, to m'e man
kardian en stethesin eptoaisen.
Os gar es s'ido broche', os me phonai-
s'oud'en et'eikei,
alla kam men glossa m'eäge, lepton
d'autika chro pur upadedromeken,
oppatessi d'oud'en oremm', epirrhom-
beisi d'akouai,
kad de m'idros kakcheëtai, tromos de
paisan agrei, chlorotera de poias
emmi, tethnaken d'oiligo 'pideues
phainom'em auta.
Alla pan tolmaton epei kai peneta...
Fragment 31 (Sappho)
He seems to me equal to gods that man
whoever he is who opposite you
sits and listens close
to your sweet speaking
and lovely laughing--oh it
puts the heart in my chest on wings
for when I look at you, even a moment, no speaking
is left in me
no: tongue breaks and thin
fire is racing under skin
and in eyes no sight and drumming
fills ears
and cold sweat holds me and shaking
grips me all, greener than grass
I am and dead--or almost
I seem to me.
But all is to be dared, because even a person of poverty...
(translated by Anne Carson)
