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If Only You and I …

She Speaks:

If you were my brother,
    I could kiss you
whenever we happen to meet,
and no one would say
    I did wrong.
I could take you to the home
of my mother,
    who taught me all I know.[a]
I would give you delicious wine
    and fruit juice as well.
Put your left hand under my head
and embrace me
    with your right arm.

Young women of Jerusalem,
promise me never to awaken love
    before it is ready.

Their Friends Speak:

Who is this young woman
    coming in from the desert
and leaning on the shoulder
    of the one she loves?

She Speaks:

I stirred up your passions
under the apple tree
    where you were born.
Always keep me in your heart
and wear this bracelet
    to remember me by.
The passion of love
    bursting into flame
is more powerful than death,
    stronger than the grave.
Love cannot be drowned
    by oceans or floods.
It cannot be bought—
any offer would be scorned
    no matter how great.

Their Friends Speak:

We have a little sister
whose breasts
    are not yet formed.
If someone asks to marry her,
    what should we do?
She isn't a wall
that we can defend
    behind a silver shield.
Neither is she a room
that we can protect
    behind a wooden door.

She Speaks:

10 I am a wall around a city,
    my breasts are towers,
and just looking at me
    brings him great pleasure.
11 Solomon has a vineyard
    at Baal-Hamon,
which he rents to others
for a thousand pieces
    of silver each.
12 My vineyard is mine alone!
Solomon can keep his silver
    and the others can keep
    their share of the profits.

He Speaks:

13 You are in the garden
with friends all around.
    Let me hear your voice!

She Speaks:

14 Hurry to me, my darling!
Run faster than a deer
    to mountains of spices.

Footnotes

  1. 8.2 who … know: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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