Sol 6

  1. Is that a fire blazing,

    or the glow of a flashing lightning bolt,

  2. or a girl who has unveiled herself

    for a lover who has met with her?

  3. I visited her, my heart fluttering,

    afraid of the watchmen’s wrath.

  4. There she was among the evening myrtles,

    like a wild rose at dawn.

  5. Then I called to her, “Gazelle,

    are you Mayy, or are you the moon?”

  6. She acted coy and replied,

    “I am no gazelle, young man,

  7. nor am I the full moon,” and she began

    to mingle pride with alarm.

  8. “Then you are a heavenly maiden,” I said,

    “you who are all I desire.

  9. Whoever sees your beautiful face

    leaves worry and hardship behind.

  10. Dispel the burning pain of sorrow,

    and earn reward and praise.”

  11. She cried for help and marshaled

    an army of modesty against me.

  12. She turned away, stirring

    the longing in my heart.

  13. Her grace captivated me

    while she was still dazed with sleep.

  14. She warded me off with her hips;

    may God forgive what happened.

  15. Then she signaled with a glance:

    “The master of this place has appeared.”

  16. She swayed and drew away

    in a state of fear,

  17. like a reed bending,

    or a shooting star rushing past.

  18. Then came the warning, “Fear death;

    my husband has eyes.”

  19. I said, “My life is yours to take;

    crown his head with horns.

  20. Nothing has reached our ears but the echo

    of a turtledove’s lament in the branches.

  21. Listen to what she sang

    when her mate fell asleep:

  22. ‘Every maiden who holds herself aloof

    cuts her own good fortune to pieces.’”

  23. Then her pure cheek began

    to veil its roses with frost.

  24. Then she said, “Rise and mount

    the gazelle’s back, O lion.

  25. The one whose aggression

    I feared has gone away.”

  26. She yielded, and the fire

    in my heart cooled with what it drank

  27. from lips set apart

    by their radiant beauty.

  28. If only my night that has passed

    had lasted without dawn.

  29. For when it passed, it condemned me

    to leave the moon,

  30. to move away from contentment,

    and to draw near to distress.

  31. So, as it began, it ended:

    the night of union, in alarm.

  32. We turned away, yet the fire

    of longing in my heart did not subside.

Sol 6