Author: Eugene Field

---

    Tell me, Lydia, tell me why,
    By the gods that dwell above,
    Sybaris makes haste to die
    Through your cruel, fatal love.

    Now he hates the sunny plain;
    Once he loved its dust and heat.
    Now no more he leads the train
    Of his peers on coursers fleet.

    Now he dreads the Tiber's touch,
    And avoids the wrestling-rings,--
    He who formerly was such
    An expert with quoits and things.

    Come, now, Mistress Lydia, say
    Why your Sybaris lies hid,
    Why he shuns the martial play,
    As we're told Achilles did.

---

Type of Poem: Lyric Poem

Date Written:

Date Published:

Language: English

Keywords: Public Domain

Source: Public Domain Collection

Publisher:

Rights/Permissions: Public Domain

Comments/Notes: The poem at hand is a deeply emotional exploration of love's transformative power, and the destructive toll it can sometimes take on individual identity and pursuits. The speaker's pleas to Lydia for answers implies a sense of bewilderment and concern for Sybaris, who is portrayed as a man losing himself in the throes of an unrequited and consuming love.

The poem employs a structured four-line stanza form, each stanza progressing the narrative and revealing more about Sybaris's transformation. The tone is plaintive and questioning, marked by a sense of loss over the vibrant, active Sybaris who once was. The references to the sunny plain, the Tiber's touch, and the wrestling-rings serve to emphasize the drastic change in Sybaris's lifestyle and interests. The closing comparison to Achilles, a known hero who shunned fighting for a time, suggests a criticism of misplaced priorities and the dangers of excessive emotional investment. The recurring question "why" underscores the speaker's confusion and paints a poignant image of love's capacity to alter and potentially unmake us.