Summary

Sappho explains that she and Philaenis have such similar bodies that it is only right they should touch. She imagines that just by embracing herself, she can also embrace Philaenis. Looking in her own mirror, she thinks she can speak to Philaenis, but soon realizes that he reflection has tears in her eyes. She asks Philaenis to help restore her by becoming her half.

She wishes that Philaenis will outlive the rest of the world and even the poetry that others have used to describe it. She imagines that Philaenis will continue to move all women to envy and all men to love, and hopes that sickness and infirmity will be kept far away from her. As the poem concludes, Sappho asks that by coming closer to her, Philaenis will also shield Sappho herself from harm or decay.

Analysis

This final section of the...