Queen! Cyprian!

You know the place then

Leave Crete and come to us waiting

Where the grove is pleasantest, by precincts

Sacred to you: incense smokes on the altar,

Cold streams murmur through the apple branches,

A young rose thicket shades the ground

Quivering leaves pour down deep sleep

In meadows where horses have grown sleek

Among spring flowers, dill scent the air

Queen! Cyprian!

Fill our golden cups with love

Stirred into clear nectar ~~~

Love is Like Tea - It Needs to Steep Awhile

Dear Sappho,

This is not a question but a letter of celebration. Last year after my wife and domestic partner of 20 some years died, I was blank and heart broken. I literally did not know what to do with myself.  I pursued healing through support groups where I eventually met my new love. She is almost 20 years younger. Never could I have imagined that such love and passion could be resurrected out of such despair. I wasn’t expecting it but we fell in love and now live together.

I am amazed mostly about how every day, each relationship milestone becomes a new layer revealing new meanings of love. Not all good or perfect, but satisfying, and quickly evolving to deeper layers. Things I never thought about or simply took for granted in my old relationship are like revelations. It makes me feel both young again and a little insecure. Which makes me vulnerable, which makes my girlfriend love me more. Or so she says. Mainly I want to let your middle aged readers know that young love blooms when you least expect it. 

Sex Is Not Enough

Dear Sappho,

I am a single lesbian looking for true love. I live in Northern California and have no problem hooking up with other lesbians. There is a vibrant community here and also lots of online dating opportunities. The problem is finding a woman that makes my heart sing and my spirit soar.  I assumed that with so many choices I would have several heartthrobs - but so far my dates have been lukewarm without any life changers. I want deep fulfilling lasting passion and love. Where can I find it, if not here? 
Sex is not enough.

Gender and Sex Are Not Interchangeable Terms

Dear Sappho,

How many sexes or genders are there and how are they defined? I suspect there are at least 4 and possibly as many as 8. It seems like we not living in a black and white world any more that is limited to just males & females. There are many shades of grey that make the world seem much more complicated. 

Bisexuals are Not Gay

Dear Sappho,

I’m rather tired of being called gay when I am bi. Seems society thinks all bi men are gay and all lesbians are bi which is so stupid. Bisexuals are not lesbians. Sometimes lesbians become bisexuals. I like to keep them guessing.

Lesbians are Not Bisexuals

Dear Sappho,

I have a super crush on a nurse I work with. I know she s a lesbian and up until now I have lived my life as a want to be bisexual. Although most of my relationships have been with men, I find myself constantly fantasizing about women. Now all of those women have become the face and embodiment of this one particular woman that I can’t stop thinking about, and believe me, I have tried.

I want to connect with her and I am curious if lesbians would sleep with or could come to love a bisexual woman? Is there some sort of political sexual protocol or unspoken code of honor about lesbians sleeping with bisexual women?

Keeping Your Sexual Chakras Open

Dear Sappho,

I have a sexually adventurous girlfriend. Every time we make love she wants to up the ante and I’m afraid I will eventually run out of steam or tricks to whet her appetite. Do you know of any sure fire sexual techniques that outlast the test of time and adventure?

Waning but Willing 

The Sweetest Cherry Just Out of Reach

Dear Sappho,

Have you ever had to deal with unrequited love? If so, how does one manage to continue loving in the face of adversity, rejection or hopelessness. When I first fell in love with this spectacular woman I didn’t realize every other woman in town had their eye on her as well. It breaks my heart that we will never be partners or lovers, but I refuse to not let myself love her. How does a passionate woman like me or a poet like you come to terms with unrequited love?

Unrequited Lover

What Charms You Most?

Dear Sappho,

Regarding the infinite and varied charms of the women you have loved, what charms you Most?

Curious

Hymn to Aphrodite

Glittering-Minded deathless Aphrodite,

I beg you, Zeus’s daughter, weaver of snares,

Don’t shatter my heart with fierce

Pain, goddess,

But come now, if ever before

You heard my voice, far off, and listened,

And left your father’s golden house,

And came,

Yoking your chariot. Lovely the swift

Sparrows that brought you over black earth

A whirring of wings through mid-air

Down the sky.

They came. And you, sacred one,

Smiling with deathless face, asking

What now, while I suffer: why now

I cry out to you, again:

What now I desire above all in my

Mad heart. ‘Whom now, shall I persuade

To admit you again to her love,

Sappho, who wrongs you now?

If she runs now she’ll follow later,

If she refuses gifts she’ll give them.

If she loves not, now, she’ll soon

Love against her will.’

Come to me now, then, free me

From aching care, and win me

All my heart longs to win. You,

Be my friend.