Song of Solomon rendering - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Lover

1 How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves

Man

I can’t take my eyes off of you, my beautiful bride to be! I can’t stop saying it: ‘You are beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!” Your eyes remind me of the morning doves, pure and white and faithful.

Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilead.

When you let your hair down I get weak in the knees. It lies upon the contours of your body, as I will in days to come, covering your silky skin.

2 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing. Each has its twin; not one of them is alone.

When you smile, I think of your mouth and the kisses we’ve shared. The glow of your teeth keep teasing me, tempting me to touch them with my tongue.

3 Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate.

I could think about your lips all day long. When you move them, purse them, or lick them, I’m reduced to a curious pubescent boy, entranced and dumbfounded. The taste of your lips is like the sweet nectar of a day lily. Your face shines as you stare into my eyes.

4 Your neck is like the tower of David, built with elegance; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors.

I can’t help but moving down your body with my eyes. Your neck is soft and sleek to the touch. I love to stroke your skin with the tips of my fingers breathing down your neckline while taking in your body’s scent.

5 Your two breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle that browse among the lilies.

As much I try to hide it, I’m sure you can see me staring at your breasts. I can’t even fake modesty when I’m around you, your body is irresistible and your breasts are divine.

6 Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of incense.

When I have a chance to have my way with you, I will climb those majestic mountains and play upon them until the dawn. All night long we will play together exploring each other’s bodies enjoying the adventures of erotic discovery.

7 All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you.

No matter how much you hate certain parts of your body, I see no flaw in you, my picturesque princess. To me, you are perfect in every way. I am captured by your love.

8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon. Descend from the crest of Amana, from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon, from the lions’ dens and the mountain haunts of the leopards.

Come away with me, my bride! Leave your father and mother, your lands and your friends and make life with me, make love with me.

9 You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart 
with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.

You have stolen my soul, and I have let you. You have taken my heart hostage with one glance of your eyes. Does it please you to know you have this kind of power over me?

10 How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice!

I have experienced a lot of wonderful things, tantalizing things. But none compare to the rapture of your love for me! They don’t even come close. There isn’t a wine more intoxicating than you! There isn’t a sight, sound, or smell that rivals your ability to awaken my senses, my sensuality.

11 Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like that of Lebanon.

I know I’ve already told you this, but your lips drip with sweetness like honey from a honeycomb. When we kiss, I can taste the sweetness that lies beneath your tongue and it undoes me every single time. Even the clothes that lace your naked body send forth an aroma that spellbinds me.

12 You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.

It kills me that we are still not married. I know that it won’t be long, but even one more moment away from your naked body is unbearable to me. It’s like I can peek through the window, but the door is still locked. I can see the succulent garden through the fencerow, but the gate is fastened shut. This teasing is starting to wear me out!

13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard, 14 nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spice.

I can’t stop thinking about your body, even if I can only enjoy it from a distance for the time being. You are the finest of wine, the choicest of spice, the best this world has to offer in every way. To what can I compare you, my crowned jewel, my bejeweled crown?

15 You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon.

You are a fountain of refreshment. All that pours forth from your being is fed by a deep spring within. Everything I enjoy on the outside, and that I’ve spoken of so freely to you, comes from something deep and rich and full on the inside. That’s what I love about you the most. Your beauty is not just skin deep, it is deep.

Beloved

16 Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! 
Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread abroad. 
Let my lover come into his garden and taste its choice fruits.

Woman

Say no more, my lusty stallion, for it is time to awaken love and set the night to music. All that I am I give to you alone, and all of my body is yours for the taking. Come into me. Into my body…into my heart. Make love to me, my love.