Sol 5.6

  1. He whom I love breathed, and his perfume wafted abroad,

    As though finely ground musk were breathing fragrance from his mouth.

  2. Then a fire of longing flared within my heart—and it

    Coursed from there through my limbs, blazing and scorching.

  3. A passion—what a passion!—has grown until my very ribs

    Toss in fire, while my eye pours forth tears.

  4. I thought inhaling that perfume would cool my burning thirst,

    But through it my thirst added fire, overflowing upon my heart.

  5. I surveyed the moons of humankind and all their beauties,

    And my beloved surpassed everyone I surveyed:

  6. In intelligence—as though fire had been kindled from him,

    So that he perceives matters hidden and makes them plain;

  7. And in beauty—as though the sun, within his cheeks,

    Had made its dwelling there at evening and at dawn;

  8. And in surpassing shyness, with the reserve of one so bashful

    That, for all his modesty, he nearly wounds with a glance.

  9. He was lovely before the first growth upon his cheeks;

    And behold him now—with that growth, lovelier still.

  10. My heart secretly ponders the mystery of his inner meaning,

    While my eye openly beholds his visible form.

  11. Such awe seizes me at the majesty of seeing him

    That my tongue falters over what I would express.

Sol 5.6