1. He met me with beauty—fair, soft-skinned,
And a dark one, sweet, who at dawn were the world's temptation,

2. So one released arrows from his eyelids when he glanced,
And the other shook spears from his shoulders when he turned.

3. And loving them both has now become my occupation.
So which of them moves remote, and my joy is troubled?

4. And if they draw near, my life becomes delicious,
But if they distance from me, I see death dyed red.

5. Would that my heart had been satisfied with just one—
It would suffice me, but my breast was cleft in two,

6. One half lies with one who knows not of my love,
One half lies with a gazelle who knows and knows not.

7. How strange is passion—it split his heart in two!
This heart falling for two—the strangest thing to see.