Love Is Better than Wine

I like this poems from Songs of Solomon.

Love Is Better than Wine

1 This is Solomon’s
    most beautiful song.

She Speaks:

² Kiss me tenderly!
Your love is better than wine,
³     and you smell so sweet.
All the young women adore you;
the very mention of your name
    is like spreading perfume.
⁴ Hurry, my king! Let’s hurry.
⁵     Take me to your home.

The Young Women Speak:

We are happy for you!
And we praise your love
    even more than wine.

She Speaks:

Young women of Jerusalem,
it is only right
    that you should adore him.
My skin is dark and beautiful,
like a tent in the desert
    or like Solomon’s curtains.
⁶ Don’t stare at me
just because the sun
    has darkened my skin.
My brothers were angry with me;
they made me work in the vineyard,
    and so I neglected
    my complexion.

Don’t let the other shepherds
    think badly of me.^[a]
7 I’m not one of those women
who shamelessly follow
    after shepherds.^[b]
My darling, I love you!
Where do you feed your sheep
    and let them rest at noon?

He Speaks:

⁸ My dearest, if you don’t know,
just follow the path
    of the sheep.
Then feed your young goats
    near the shepherds' tents.
⁹ You move as gracefully
as the pony
that leads
    the chariot of the king.
¹⁰ Earrings add to your beauty,
and you wear a necklace
    of precious stones.
¹¹ Let’s make you some jewelry
    of gold,
woven with silver.

She Speaks:

¹² My king, while you
were on your couch,
    my love was a magic charm.^[c]
13 My darling, you are perfume
    between my breasts;
¹⁴ you are flower blossoms
    from the gardens of En-Gedi.^[d]

He Speaks:

¹⁵ My darling, you are lovely,
so very lovely—
    your eyes are those of a dove.

She Speaks:

¹⁶ My love, you are handsome,
    truly handsome—
the fresh green grass
    will be our wedding bed
¹⁷ in the shade of cedar
    and cypress trees.

Love Makes Everything Beautiful

She Speaks:

2 I am merely a rose^[a]
from the land of Sharon,
    a lily from the valley.

He Speaks:

² My darling, when compared
with other young women,
    you are a lily among thorns.

She Speaks:

³ And you, my love,
are an apple tree
    among trees of the forest.
Your shade brought me pleasure;
    your fruit was sweet.
⁴ You led me to your banquet room
    and showered me with love.
⁵ Refresh and strengthen me
with raisins and apples.
    I am hungry for love!
⁶ Put your left hand under my head
and embrace me
    with your right arm.

⁷ Young women of Jerusalem,
promise me by the power
    of deer and gazelles^[b]
never to awaken love
    before it is ready.

Winter Is Past

She Speaks:

⁸ I hear the voice
    of the one I love,
as he comes leaping
over mountains and hills
⁹     like a deer or a gazelle.
Now he stands outside our wall,
looking through the window
¹⁰     and speaking to me.

He Speaks:

My darling, I love you!
    Let’s go away together.
¹¹ Winter is past,
    the rain has stopped;
¹² flowers cover the earth,
    it’s time to sing.^[c]
The cooing of doves
    is heard in our land.
¹³ Fig trees are bearing fruit,
while blossoms on grapevines
    fill the air with perfume.
My darling, I love you!
    Let’s go away together.
¹⁴ You are my dove
hiding among the rocks
    on the side of a cliff.
Let me see how lovely you are!
Let me hear the sound
    of your melodious voice.
¹⁵ Our vineyards are in blossom;
we must catch the little foxes
    that destroy the vineyards.^[d]

She Speaks:

¹⁶ My darling, I am yours,
    and you are mine,
as you feed your sheep
    among the lilies.
¹⁷ Pretend to be a young deer
dancing on mountain slopes^[e]
    until daylight comes
    and shadows fade away.

And this is my favorite verse:

Young women of Jerusalem,
promise me by the power
    of deer and gazelles^[b]
never to awaken love
    before it is ready.