Submit a Poem
Get Your Premium Membership
spacer



Photo of Bliss Carman

Carman, Bliss

Bliss Carman was a Canadian poet. He was born William Bliss Carman in Fredericton, in the Maritime province of New Brunswick. "Bliss" was his mother's maiden name.. Canadian-American poet associated with the Confederation Poets

Email Poem - I Loved Thee, Atthis, in the Long AgoEmail Poem

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-misted 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 companionship 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!



Comments