9 three bridegroom fragment adaptations
three adaptations of fragments of Sappho, as translated by Anne Carlson in “If Not, Winter”
| A woman writes:
It’s in your arms The happiness they hold, the shape of them She pulls you over The pull is not in her arms But in the weight of her And you lean over She kisses you and you move Happily not eagerly Or erratically but tipsy And your arms reach down to hold her, to take shape and you’re bending You, you do not know You are more loved than You could ever be moved The weight of her May I? you can’t hold |
Fragment 115
To what O beloved bridegroom may I compare you? To a slender sapling most of all do I compare you |
|
Fragment 116
farewell bride farewell much-honored bridegroom |
Split seeds underfoot
Crush soft, crunch hard paper Twist petals, float bubbles Spring sparks towards lush crunchy hair—
A door opens and he and she slide in A door closes and he and she slide away
Did you get it? Did you get it? She got it, just ahead of me. Her head’s blocking them, in mine. Damn. And I was waiting out here twenty minutes.
In their dust his and hers folks look around with tired smiles
She really was a vision. And he powered through! |
| at a reunion
the first words she’d spoken to me in months— go, gather “my friends” for the toast. I just sort of stared who could I summon?
she wanted you there more than me.
great loves of my life you deserve each other and I hope you’ve found one another again. |
Fragment 117
may you fare well bride and let the bridegroom fare well |