Ovid, "The Loves"

Hot noon, and I was lying on my bed,

The window halfway open, and the light

The way it is in woods, when sun has fled

After the day, before the coming night,

Or before day, after the night has gone,

For modest girls a reassuring shade,

Just the right sort of light, with curtains drawn,

Wherein to lay inviting ambuscade.

And there Corinna entered, with her gown

Loosened a little, and on either side

Of her white neck the dark hair hanging down.

Semiramis could not have been, as bride,

Any more lovely, nor could Lais move

The hearts of men more easily to love.

Sheer though it was, I pulled the dress away;

Pro forma, she resisted, more or less.

It offered little cover, I must say,

And why put up a fight to save a dress?

So soon she stood there naked, and I saw,

Not only saw, but felt, perfection there,

Hands moving over beauty without flaw,

The breasts, the thighs, the triangle of hair.

No need for catalogue, to itemize

All those delights, nor could I truly say

That I confined my pleasure to my eyes.

Naked, I took her, naked, till we lay

Worn out, done in. Grant me, O gods, the boon

Of many such another sultry noon!