<p class="poetry">You are a garden spring,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">a well<n id="2" /> of fresh water<n id="3" /> flowing down from Lebanon.p>

<p class="poetry">If she is a wall,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">we will build on her a battlement<n id="2" /> of silver;p> <p class="poetry">but if she is a door,p> <p class="poetry">we will barricade<n id="3" /> her with boards<n id="4" /> of cedar.<n id="5" />p>

<t /><p class="sosspeaker"><b><i>The Beloved to Her Lover:i>b>p> <p class="poetry">I am a<n id="1" /> meadow flower<n id="2" /> from Sharon,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">a lily<n id="4" /> from the valleys.p>

<t /><p class="sosspeaker"><b><i>The Lover to His Beloved:i>b>p> <p class="poetry">You are a locked garden,<n id="1" /> my sister, my bride;p> <p class="poetry">you are an enclosed spring, a sealed-up fountain.p>

<p class="poetry">Your navel<n id="1" /> is a round mixing bowl<n id="2" /> &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">may it never lack<n id="3" /> mixed wine!<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">Your belly<n id="5" /> is a mound of wheat,p> <p class="poetry">encircled<n id="6" /> by lilies.p>

<p class="sosspeaker"><b><i>The Beloved to Her Lover:i>b>p> <p class="poetry">Make haste, my beloved!p> <p class="poetry">Be like a gazelle or a young stagp> <p class="bodytext">on the mountains of spices.p>

<p class="poetry">Your lips are like a scarlet thread;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">your mouth is lovely.p> <p class="poetry">Your forehead<n id="2" /> behind your veilp> <p class="poetry">is like a slice of pomegranate.p>

<p class="poetry">King Solomon made a sedan chair<n id="1" /> for himselfp> <p class="poetry">of wood imported from Lebanon.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Look! There he stands behind our wall,p> <p class="poetry">gazing through the window,p> <p class="poetry">peering through the lattice.p>

<t /><p class="sosspeaker"><b><i>The Beloved to Her Lover:i>b>p> <p class="poetry">Until the dawn arrives<n id="1" /> and the shadows flee,p> <p class="poetry">turn,<n id="2" /> my beloved &#8211;p> <p class="poetry">be like a gazelle or a young stagp> <p class="poetry">on the mountain gorges.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Like a slice of pomegranatep> <p class="poetry">is your forehead<n id="1" /> behind your veil.p>

<p class="poetry">Your two breasts are like two fawns,p> <p class="poetry">twins of a gazelle.p>

<p class="poetry">My beloved is like a fragrant pouch of myrrh<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">spending the night<n id="2" /> between my breasts.p>

<p class="poetry">My beloved is like a cluster of henna blossoms<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">in the vineyards of En-Gedi.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">His head is like the most pure gold.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">His hair is curly<n id="2" /> &#8211; black like a raven.p>

<t /><p class="sosspeaker"><b><i>The Beloved to Her Lover:i>b>p> <p class="poetry">Solomon had a vineyard at Baal-Hamon;p> <p class="poetry">he leased out<n id="1" /> the vineyard to those who maintained it.p> <p class="poetry">Each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver for its fruit.p>

<t /><p class="sosspeaker"><b><i>The Beloved to Her Lover:i>b>p> <p class="poetry">Set me like a cylinder seal<n id="1" /> over your heart,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">like a signet<n id="3" /> on your arm.<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">For love is as strong as death,<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">passion<n id="6" /> is as unrelenting<n id="7" /> as Sheol.p> <p class="poetry">Its flames burst forth,<n id="8" />p> <p class="poetry">it is a blazing flame.<n id="9" />p>

<t /><p class="sosspeaker"><b><i>The Lover to His Beloved:i>b>p> <p class="poetry">O my beloved, you are like<n id="1" /> a<n id="2" /> mare<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">among Pharaoh&#8217;s stallions.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="sosspeaker"><b><i>The Lover to His Beloved:i>b>p> <p class="poetry">Like<n id="1" /> a lily among the thorns,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">so is my darling among the maidens.p>

<p class="poetry">Your shoots are a royal garden<n id="1" /> full of pomegranatesp> <p class="poetry">with choice fruits:p> <p class="poetry">henna with nard,p>