Work Text:
By the cool stream the breeze chants through apple branches,
from quivering leaves slumber pours down.
A most gentle maiden gathers flowers
shot with innumerable hues.
A maiden with bright eyes and rosy cheeks. Her voice is sweet as honey,
than the lyre more melodious, than gold more golden.
Face me, my beloved. Unveil the grace in your eyes.
Again my heart quakes with love. A storm disturbs the apple tree.
Golden Aphrodite's handmaid
descends from heaven, cloaked in purple.
Love, bittersweet and helpless, has me quivering,
fluttering like a child after her mother.
The full moon rose. Kneeling around the goddess' altar,
the stars, their bright visage eclipsed.
At plenilune she illumines the earth with silver light.
Her brilliance does not obscure her charm.
I know someone will remember, hereafter,
remember us.
All is dark. It is midnight.
The moon has set. The stars,
the hours pass slowly by.
I lie alone.
Sleep well, held gently in your lover's heart,
your face, so dear to me, speckled with the sweetest bliss.