Sol 5.6

  1. Who will aid me against a gazelle

    extravagant in shunning me—

  2. gentle and soft in speech,

    hard to pluck, evasive?

  3. He mastered abundant learning

    before reaching adulthood;

  4. and afterward surpassed his peers,

    a prodigy in every art.

  5. Through his learning he strides arrayed

    in the ample robe of excellence.

  6. He was fashioned from light—how

    wondrously the Maker wrought!

  7. His form is lovelier than

    a full moon rising by night,

  8. and his character gentler than

    sweet Euphrates water, pleasant to drink.

  9. His crafting of verse has

    outdone every craftsman:

  10. noble, proud, and valiant,

    he vanquishes every would-be vanquisher;

  11. and possessed of a modesty guarded

    against every tempter’s prompting.

  12. My heart is full of him;

    it is never seen empty.

  13. Though he stray from loving me,

    my love for him will not stray;

  14. or turn from me in coldness,

    I shall not turn away.

  15. Oh, how lovely—a little scorpion

    whose two cheeks sting me!

  16. And the redness upon his cheek

    came there without a dyer.

Sol 5.6