Sappho’s Apple
reclaiming the feminine voice through Sappho's fragments.
High and low Sappho searches for Phaon.
His youthful mask hides his heart.
The reddened apple out of reach,
The branch too high.
Eve reached for the apple—
our first sin.
Women persecuted for wicked ways,
goddesses accused of witchery.
Songs sung while holding hands—
waiting for—
fierce flames
to burn mothers, daughters, sisters.
Sappho reached for the apple—
and found love.
Thank you for reading.
Oh that ending!
This poem felt so tender and powerful to me. I loved the way you brought together myth, womanhood, pain, and love in so few lines, yet with such depth. The ending moved me most — that Sappho reached for the apple and found love, not sin, felt beautiful, healing, and quietly defiant.