Sol 6

  1. The lovesick one is bewildered and abandoned.

    False hope of his beloved deceived him.

  2. He came running like the young of a gazelle,

    dusky, dark-lipped, dark-haired, and quick to flee.

  3. His glances are Babylonian; his teeth are a fortress,

    with the musk of his lips as a wall around them.

  4. His figure is like a branch, and the branch

    grows slender, tender, and fresh.

  5. And his brow is like a child of the sun;

    darkness was lifted from the dawn of his face.

  6. He drinks deeply of the water of beauty,

    so that coming to union ends in turning away.

  7. Whenever a lover’s fortune gives him power to judge,

    he rules proudly, and the powerful can be unjust.

  8. I said when I saw him disappear from me

    for an hour that felt like months, even ages:

  9. Where have you gone, far away, O desire of my soul?

    Since you left, your obedient one has departed.

  10. He said to me, as shyness reddened his cheek,

    and those lines upon it almost seemed to stir:

  11. Though I vanish from the dark of your eye, I

    move within your heart, between your ribs.

  12. Does this love decree a vengeful separation

    for your love-stricken heart?

  13. Or have the glance of my eye and the enchanted narcissus

    spitefully let death come to you?

Sol 6