Immerse: Poets Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 202
190
IMMERSE
•
POETS
Why is your lover better than all others,
O woman of rare beauty?
What makes your lover so special
that we must promise this?
My lover is dark and dazzling,
better than ten thousand others!
His head is finest gold,
his wavy hair is black as a raven.
His eyes sparkle like doves
beside springs of water;
they are set like jewels
washed in milk.
His cheeks are like gardens of spices
giving off fragrance.
His lips are like lilies,
perfumed with myrrh.
His arms are like rounded bars of gold,
set with beryl.
His body is like bright ivory,
glowing with lapis lazuli.
His legs are like marble pillars
set in sockets of finest gold.
His posture is stately,
like the noble cedars of Lebanon.
His mouth is sweetness itself;
he is desirable in every way.
Such, O women of Jerusalem,
is my lover, my friend.
Where has your lover gone,
O woman of rare beauty?
Which way did he turn
so we can help you find him?
My lover has gone down to his garden,
to his spice beds,
to browse in the gardens
and gather the lilies.
5:9–6:2
