from Song of Songs
translated by Marcia Falk

My beloved lay down beside me
and my fragrance
weakened the night.
All night between my breasts
my love is a cluster of myrrh,
a sheaf of henna blossoms, my love,
as in the vineyards of Ein Gedi.

And you, my beloved,
how beautiful you are!
Your eyes are doves.

You are beautiful, my love,
and gentle. Wherever we lie
our bed is green.
Our roofbeams are cedar,
our rafters juniper.

I am the rose of Sharon,
the wild lily of the valleys.

Like a lily in a field
of thistles,
such is my love
among the young women.

And my beloved among the young men
is a branching apricot tree in the wood.
In that shade I have often lingered,
tasting the fruit.