O'er their soft limbs has myrrh its fragrance shed; <br />And bathed in warmth beneath December's skies <br />They dream, while the bronze lamp with flaming eyes <br />Throws light and shadow on each beauteous head. <br /> <br />On byssus cushions of empurpled bed <br />Some amber, rosy figure nerveless tries <br />To stretch, or bend, or from the couch to rise, <br />Where linen's folds voluptuously spread. <br /> <br />In nakedness, exhaling ardent fume, <br />An Asian woman mid the heated room <br />Twines her smooth arms in pliant, languorous play; <br /> <br />Ausonius' daughters, mad with ecstasy, <br />Drink in the rich and savage harmony, <br />As over blushless bust their dark locks stray.<br /><br />Jose Maria de Heredia<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/tepidarium/
