Fragment #104

#104

Evening comes and there is a returning

Eirana, you gather back the flowers we have picked

Bring together all that dazzling dawn has put asunder

Anaktoria, I’ll head out the sheep, you gather a lamb

Shepherd girls we have been today, Megara, gather a kid

Night is approaching and everything should be at home

Now is the time to gather a child to its mother

For the husband to come home to his wife

For the night fires to be lit, everyone inside

But my wild Dionysian streak is calling

To go out in the woods and dance

Let’s weave crowns with our fragrant flowers

Get the cool purple wine from the brook

Where it has chilled, come maidens fair

Let’s honor the god with goblets entwined

With his vine, farewell Apollo, we welcome

The dark, get a torch and we will frolic in

The gleaming grotto which overlooks the harbor

Dance the alluring steps Dionysus has taught

Be as free as the wind blowing our robes on high

Take off our veils, our head gear, be defiant

We’ll worship all night, have a pannuchides

With the beat of the drum, we will leap and twirl

If only we had wings, we could flutter and fly