Far on the hill flute-sounds.
Fauns lurk in the marshes,
Where sluggishly the slender nymphs
Rest hidden in reed and seaweed.
In the pond's mirror-glass
Golden butterflies ecstacize,
Quietly an animal with two backs
Moves in the velvety grass.
Sobbing in the birch grove
Orpheus breathes tender love-babble,
Softly and jokingly the nightingales
Join in his song.
Phoebus a flame glows
Still on Aphrodite's mouth,
And drizzled from ambergris scent -
The hour reddens darkly.