I Loved Thee, Atthis, In The Long Ago

(Sappho XXIII)
 I loved thee, Atthis, in the long ago,
 When the great oleanders were in flower
 In the broad herded meadows full of sun.
 And we would often at the fall of dusk
 Wander together by the silver stream,
 When the soft grass-heads were all wet with dew
 And purple-miste d in the fading light.
 And joy I knew and sorrow at thy voice,
 And the superb magnificence of love,—
  The loneliness that saddens solitude,
  And the sweet speech that makes it durable,—
  The bitter longing and the keen desire,
  The sweet companionshi p through quiet days
  In the slow ample beauty of the world,
  And the unutterable glad release
  Within the temple of the holy night.
  O Atthis, how I loved thee long ago
  In that fair perished summer by the sea!