HE
4
1 How
beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes
behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of
goats descending from Mount Gilead.
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.
3
Your lips are like
a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind
your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate.
4
Your neck is like the
tower of David, built with elegance; on it hang a thousand
shields, all of them shields of warriors.
5
Your two breasts are
like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle that browse
among the lilies.
6
Until the day breaks
and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh
and to the hill of incense.
7
All beautiful you are,
my darling; there is no flaw in you.
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.
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.
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!
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.
12
You are a garden locked
up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed
fountain.
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 spices.
15
You are a garden fountain,
a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon.
SHE
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. |
(As
the lights come back up, the backdrop is of the royal apartments.
The couple are together in the middle of the stage and he
is on one knee before her, holding her hand. She is in royal
robes, but veiled, as if hidden from prying eyes. He speaks)
“My
darling, how beautiful you are, how fortunate I am. Behind
the bride's veil, your dovelike, gentle and tender eyes
capture me. Your long dark hair over your shoulders is like
a stream of my black goats coming down over the hillside
path, so beautiful.
The
whiteness of your teeth as you smile at me, is like the
whiteness of my newly shorn and washed flocks. The red of
your mouth stands out like a red ribbon and makes my heart
beat fiercely. The curve of your head behind your veil is
as smooth and soft as a fresh pomegranate. What more may
I compare you to. I do it so that when I again see these
things I will be reminded of your wonderful beauty.
The
strength and beauty of your neck with its necklace reminds
me of the beautiful tower of David hung around with ornamental
shields.
The
soft curves of your breasts put me in mind of the soft and
gentle fawns I see, half hidden in the woodland.
Now
we have the time together, I can enjoy the double fragrance
of your beauty in its entirety, for in you is perfection,
my love.
(The
lights dim and when they come back up, he is holding her
at arms length and she no longer wears a veil)
Leave
your past behind now, my love, let the memories of the hard
times be banished.
You
have won my heart my dearest wife, with one glance of your
eyes you captured me, with your very simplicity I was taken.
How
wonderful your love to me has been, my wife, how much more
wonderful than any pleasures from wine or fragrance from
perfume!
The
touch of your lips on mine melts me, your gentle fragrance
captivates me.
Yet
these are early days, my love, for you have been held back
for me, an untouched garden, a fountain spring waiting to
burst forth with ever greater wonders.
Every
aspect of you is like an orchard, holding such delights
as to be almost indescribable. As our love is expressed
you are like a fountain that just pours out more and more
love on me. You are so wonderful.
(She
responds)
My
dear, if I am a garden let the seasons come and open me
that I may be an even greater pleasure to the one who has
my heart.
(The
light fades with the two of them gazing into each other's
eyes). |