Heliodore

Tears, even far beneath the earth I send thee,

O Heliodore — bitter tears I pour;

Tokens of love, in Hades to attend thee.

And on thy tomb, where I have mourned so sore,

I offer — as libations poured above —

Memories of our kindness and our love.

O thou, among the dead beloved even,

Meleager sorely, sorely wails for thee;

Vain homage, empty prayers to Hades given!

Ah, where may now my mourned-for blossom be?

Hades hath ravished, ravished it away,

And dust defiles my blooming flower to-day.

O Earth, all nourishing, to thee I make

My supplication — her I weep for take,

And gently fold her in thine arms, to rest,

Mother, against thy breast.