That man seems to me peer of gods,
who sits in thy presence,
and hears close to him
thy sweet speech

and lovely laughter; that indeed
makes my heart flutter in my bosom.
For when I see thee but a little,
I have no utterance left,

my tongue is broken down,
and straightway a subtle fire has run under my skin,
with my eyes I have no sight,
my ears ring,

sweat pours down, and a trembling
seizes all my body; I am paler than grass,
and seem in my madness little better
than one dead.

But I must dare all, since one so poor.

Sappho, Fragment 31