It oft to many has successful been
Upon his arm to let his mistress lean,
Or with her airy fan to cool her heat,
Or gently squeeze her knees, or press her feet.
All public sports to favour young desire,
With opportunities like this conspire.
E’en where his skill the gladiator shows,
With human blood where the Arena flows,
There oftentimes Love’s quiver-bearing boy
Prepares his bow and arrows to destroy;
While the spectator gazes on the sight,
And sees them wound each other with delight;
While he his pretty mistress entertains,
And wagers with her who the conquest gains,
Slily the god takes aim, and hits his heart,
And in the wounds he sees he bears his part.
(Matthew Prior)
More Poetry from Matthew Prior:
Matthew Prior Poems based on Topics: God, Sense & Perception, Desire- Carmen Seculare. For the Year 1700. To The King (Matthew Prior Poems)
- Alma; or, The Progress of the Mind. In Three Cantos. - Canto III. (Matthew Prior Poems)
- Alma; or, The Progress of the Mind. In Three Cantos. - Canto II. (Matthew Prior Poems)
- Alma; or, The Progress of the Mind. In Three Cantos. - Canto I. (Matthew Prior Poems)
- The Turtle And Sparrow. An Elegiac Tale (Matthew Prior Poems)
- An Ode - Humbly Inscribed To The Queen, On the Glorious Success of Her Majesty's Arms (Matthew Prior Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: God Poems, Sense & Perception Poems, Desire PoemsBased on Keywords: entertains, gladiator, wagers, quiver-bearing
- The Vision Of Piers Plowman - Part 14 (William Langland Poems)
- Alma; or, The Progress of the Mind. In Three Cantos. - Canto I. (Matthew Prior Poems)
- Convict Once - Part Second. (James Brunton Stephens Poems)
- Hermann And Dorothea - IX. Urania (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Poems)
- The Believer's Espousals : Chapter I. (Ralph Erskine Poems)