Fragment 109 (Voigt 114)
109 · Voigt 114A. Maidenhood, maidenhood, whither art thou gone away from me?
B. Never again will I come to thee, never again.
A. Παρθενία, παρθενία, ποῖ με λίποισ’ ἀποίχῃ;
Β. Οὐκέτι ἥξω πρὸς σέ, οὐκέτι ἥξω.
‘Sweet Rose of May, sweet Rose of May,
Whither, ah whither fled away?’
‘What’s gone no time can e’er restore—
I come no more, I come no more.’
— J. H. Merivale.
From Demetrius, who quoted the fragment to show the grace of Sappho’s style and the beauty of repetition.