Bright as Venus' golden star!
And as silver Cynthia fair!
Nymph, with ev'ry charm replete!
Give an hundred kisses sweet;
Then as many kisses more
O'er my lips profusely pour,
As th' insatiate bard could want,
Or his bounteous Lesbia grant;
As the vagrant loves, that stray
On thy lip's nectareous way;
As the dimpling graces spread
On thy cheeks' carnation'd bed;
As the deaths thy lovers die;
As the conquests of thine eye;
Or the cares, and fond delights,
Which its changeful beam incites;
As the hopes and fears we prove,
Or th' impassion'd sighs, in love;
As the shafts by Cupid sped,
Shafts! by which my heart has bled:
As the countless stores, that still
All his golden quiver fill.
Whisper'd plaints, and wanton wiles;
Speeches soft, and soothing smiles;
Teeth-imprinted, tell-tale blisses;
Intermix with all thy kisses:
So, when zephyr's breezy wing
Wafts the balmy breath of spring,
Turtles thus their loves repeat,
Fondly-billing, murm'ring-sweet;
While their trembling pinions tell
What delights their bosoms swell.
Now, when joys o'erwhelm thy mind,
On my glowing cheek reclin'd,
All around, in am'rous trance,
Let thine eyes voluptuous glance;
And, suffus'd with passion's flames,
Dart their sweetly-trembling gleams:
Then, soft-languishing, and sighing,
With delicious transport dying,
Say to the officious swain,
"Now thy fainting fair sustain."
In my fond, encircling arms
I'll receive thy melting charms;
While the long, life-teeming kiss
Shall recal they soul to bliss:
And, as thus the vital store
From my humid lips I pour.
Till, exhausted with the play,
All my spirit wastes away;
Sudden, in my turn, I'll cry,
"Oh! support me, for I die."
To your fost'ring breast you'll hold me,
In your warm embrace enfold me;
While thy breath, in nectar'd gales,
O'er my sinking soul prevails;
While thy kisses sweet impart
Life and rapture to the heart.
Thus, when youth is in its prime,
Let's enjoy the golden time;
For, when smiling youth is past,
Age these tender joys shall blast:
Sickness, which our bloom impairs;
Slow-consuming, painful cares;
Death, with dire remorseless rage;
All attend the steps of age.
