SUN burning down on back and loins, penetrating the skin, bathing their flanks in sweat, Where they lie naked on the warm ground, and the erns arch over them, Out in the woods, and the sweet scent of fir-needles Blends with the fragrant nearness of their bodies; In-armed together, murmuring, talking, Drunk with wine of Eros' lips, Hourlong, while the great wind rushes in the branches, And the blue above lies deep beyond the fern-fronds and fir-tips; Till, with the midday sun, fierce scorching, smiting, Up from their woodland lair they leap, and smite, And strike with wands, and wrestle, and bruise each other, In savage play and amorous despite. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ONE AT PLAY IN THE FIELDS OF by KAREN SWENSON THE TOOTHPICK by GHALIB IBN RIBAH AL-HAJJAM DRINKING SONG (1) by ALCAEUS OF MYTILENE WOULD I KNEW! by WILLIAM ALLINGHAM SELF-CONGRATULATION by ANNE BRONTE MOONLIGHT by JEREMIAH JOSEPH CALLANAN SIDNEY'S ASTROPHEL AND STELLA: CANTO QUINTO. CONTENT by THOMAS CAMPION |