The Swallow Song

So, I was making my best effort to avoid painting the house
this last weekend before a brief vacation in the Texas Hill Country,
and thought I'd read a little Greek lyric poetry instead.  Surprise!
I found some great stuff in the particular anthology.  Here's a charming
little poem from the 7th century BC by an anonymous poet -- d'y'all
think it'd be a good translation exercise?

    Swallow Song
    (Greek original follows immediately after for the classicists
    among you)

    ===============================
    The swallow is coming, is coming
    bringing hours of beauty, years of beauty
    on her white belly,
    on her black back.

    Bring on the fruitcake,
    from your fatted house,
    and a cup of wine,
    and a basket of cheese.

    And the swallow does not disdain
    wheat-bread or
    pulse-porridge, either.

    Should we go, or get something?
    If you give us something, [good],
    but if you don't, then we won't let you be:
    we'll carry away the door and the lintel,
    or your wife sitting inside --
    she's small; we'll carry her easily.
    But if you give us something,
    let it be something big,
    Open, open the door for the swallow,
    for we are not old men, but children.

    ===============================
    [Note the dialect -- is that Doric? I assume so
    because of the back [a] as in "tan" and the -mes
    1st.pl personal ending, but I've never had to
    work with much that wasn't Attic-Ionic]

    É:lthe, é:lthe khélido:n
    kalàs ó:ras ágousa
    kaloùs eniautoús
    epì gastéra leuká
    epì nôta mélaina.
    Paláthan su prokúklei
    ek píonos oíkou
    oínou te dépastron,
    turoû te kánustron
    kaì púrna khelidò:n
    kaì lekithítan
    ouk apo:theîtai.  póter' apío:mes è: labó:metha?
    ei mén ti dóseis... ei dè mé:, ouk eásomes
    e: tàn thúran phéromes e: toupérthuron
    e:  tàn gunaîka tàn éso: kathe:ménan
    mikrà mén esti, rhadío:s min oísomes.
    all' ei phére:s ti,
    méga dé: ti phérois.
    ánoig', ánoige tàn thúran khelidóni
    ou gar gérontés esmen, allà paidía.

===================================
Thomas Wier | AIM: trwier

"Aspidi men Saiôn tis agalletai, hên para thamnôi
  entos amômêton kallipon ouk ethelôn;
autos d' exephugon thanatou telos: aspis ekeinê
  erretô; exautês ktêsomai ou kakiô" - Arkhilokhos

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