mi sona ala e ona, taso ona li awen
lon poka sina, li kute e toki suwi sina,
e mu musi sina la—lukin mi la, ona li
sama jan sewi.
pilin mi ale li weka; mi lukin e sina la,
sona en toki li weka tan mi;
palisa uta mi li kama suli a
lon uta mi.
selo mi la, seli len li tawa sama akesi;
telo lete li kama li telo lon selo;
kute li kute e kalama pi kute sama;
oko li pini.
pali ala (jan Lapate o) li jo ale
e sina, li pona ike a tawa sina—
pali ala li anpa e jan lawa, li pakala e
ma tomo suli.
toki Inli lon lipu ni
This is an adaptation of the oldest love poem in Western literature, Sappho’s ode φαίνεταί μοι (numbered 31 in modern editions). Written over 2600 years ago, its description of how unfulfilled love feels is as vivid and true today as it was then. The end of my version follows that of Catullus’s Latin adaptation (Carmen LI), which is often the first “real” poem that Latin students (including me, many years ago!) read.
lipu akesi pi jan Lapate 