Daphne by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Why do you follow me?—
Any moment I can be
Nothing but a laurel-tree.
Any moment of the chase
I can leave you in my place
A pink bough for your embrace.
Yet if over hill and hollow
Still it is your will to follow,
I am off;—to heel, Apollo!
Notes:
In Greek mythology, Daphne was the nymph daughter of a
river god named Peneus. Dreading the idea of marriage (and the loss of
her freedom), Daphne asked her father for permission to remain unwed, to which
he begrudgingly agreed. Nevertheless, Daphne one day found herself pursued by the god Apollo, who had become hopelessly enamoured with the nymph. Though Daphne fled her unwanted suitor, Apollo was faster. Just as he'd reached her, however, the panicked nymph cried out for her father's aid, at which point she was transformed into a laurel tree. It's suggested that Millay wrote the poem about her lover Floyd Dell.
Source
- The age of fable: or Beauties of mythology by Thomas Bulfinch (1913)
- What Lips My Lips Have Kissed: The Loves and Love Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Daniel Mark Epstein (2001)
<< The Penitent || A Few Figs from Thistles (1922) || Portrait by a
Neighbour >>