O, where roams your delicate soul

Does it yet travel the seas

                gliding afar with the Arctic tern

                or is its delight in quieter waters

                in dappled river pools or streams

Is it content to rest in the cool damp shade of the willow

watching minnows play

                diving among the nymphs

                and sacred lotus

 

Empty are the ways

I no longer see you

                as I walk the glades alone

When our world was young

                craving love I was Hylas

Following where you led

                a lustrous blaze in the sun

                a beckoning

                and I was lost

 

Oh Atthis, I long to hold you

                to feel your soft warmth

                the touch of your lips

                our passion

Your body brings me calm

 

 

ἀλκυών: Halcyon = Alcedo (Latin)

Atthis: A beautiful young woman of Lesbos

Alcedo atthis: river kingfisher