… my mother [used to say that]
in her youth it was thought to be
very fine to bind up your hair
with a dark purple [headband] – yes,
extremely fine indeed, although
for a girl whose hair is golden
like a torch flame [better] to wreathe
in it garlands of fresh flowers;
recently [I saw] a headband,
brightly coloured, from Sardis …
but for you, Cleis,† I do not have
a brightly coloured headband nor
do I know where I may find one …
*****
† Cleis: according to one ancient biography, the name of both Sappho’s mother and her daughter.