Erinna, thou art ever fair

VI

Πάρθενον ἀδύφωνον·

ERINNA, thou art ever fair, 
Not as the young spring flowers, 
We who have laurel in our hair— 
Eternal youth is ours. 
The roses that Pieria's dew 
Hath washed can ne'er decline ; 
On Orpheus' tomb at first they grew, 
And there the Sacred Nine, 
'Mid quivering moonlight, seek the groves 
Guarding the minstrel's tomb ; 
Each for the poet that she loves 
Plucks an immortal bloom. 
Soon as my girl's sweet voice she caught, 
Thither Euterpe sped, 
And, singing too, a garland wrought 
To crown Erinna's head.