Sappho 105a.1–3
Sappho 105a (Campbell) — the sweet-apple on the topmost branch. Quoted by Syrianus; Himerius says Sappho compared the bride to an apple, so the lines come from a wedding-song. Metre: dactylic hexameter. · 3 lines
1οἶον τὸ γλυκύμαλον ἐρεύθεται ἄκρῳ ἐπ᾽ ὔσδῳ,
As the sweet-apple reddens on the topmost branch,
2ἄκρον ἐπ᾽ ἀκροτάτῳ, λελάθοντο δὲ μαλοδρόπηες·
topmost on the very topmost, and the apple-pickers forgot it —
3οὐ μὰν ἐκλελάθοντ᾽, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐδύναντ᾽ ἐπίκεσθαι.
no, they did not forget it, but they could not reach it.