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The Torment of Separation

The Groom

¹ "I have ^(C1)come into my garden, ^(C2)my sister, my bride;
I have gathered my ^(C3)myrrh along with my balsam.
I have eaten my honeycomb with my ^(C4)honey;
I have ^(C5)drunk my wine with my milk.
Eat, ^(C6)friends;
Drink and ^(F1)drink deeply, lovers."

The Bride

² "I was asleep but my heart was awake.
A voice! My beloved was knocking:
'Open to me, ^(C1)my sister, my darling,
^(C2)My dove, my perfect one!
For my head is ^(F1)drenched with dew,
My ^(C3)locks with the dew drops of the night.'

³ "I have ^(C1)taken off my dress,
How can I put it on again?
I have ^(C2)washed my feet,
How can I dirty them again?

⁴ "My beloved extended his hand through the opening,
And my ^(C1)feelings were stirred for him.

⁵ "I arose to open to my beloved;
And my hands ^(C1)dripped with myrrh,
And my fingers with drops of myrrh,
On the handles of the bolt.

⁶ "I opened to my beloved,
But my beloved had ^(C1)turned away and had gone!
My ^(F1)heart went out to him as he ^(C2)spoke.
I ^(C3)searched for him but I did not find him;
I ^(C4)called him but he did not answer me.

⁷ "The ^(C1)watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me,
They struck me and wounded me;
The guards of the walls took my shawl away from me.

⁸ "^(C1)Swear to me, you daughters of Jerusalem,
If you find my beloved,
As to what you will tell him:
For ^(C2)I am lovesick."

The Chorus

⁹ "^(F1)What kind of beloved is your beloved,
O ^(C1)most beautiful among women?
^(F1)What kind of beloved is your beloved,
That you make us swear in this way?"

Admiration by the Bride

The Bride

¹⁰ "My beloved is dazzling and ^(F1)(C1)reddish,
^(C2)Outstanding among ten thousand.

¹¹ "His head is like gold, pure gold;
His ^(C1)locks are like clusters of dates
And black as a raven.

¹² "His ^(C1)eyes are like doves
Beside streams of water,
Bathed in milk,
And perched in their ^(C2)setting.

¹³ "His cheeks are like a ^(C1)bed of balsam,
^(F1)Banks of herbal spices;
His lips are ^(C2)lilies
^(C3)Dripping with drops of myrrh.

¹⁴ "His hands are rods of gold
Set with ^(C1)topaz;
His abdomen is panels of ivory
Covered with ^(F1)(C2)sapphires.

¹⁵ "His thighs are pillars of alabaster
Set on pedestals of pure gold;
His appearance is like ^(C1)Lebanon,
Choice as the ^(C2)cedars.

¹⁶ "His ^(F1)(C1)mouth is full of sweetness.
And he is wholly ^(C2)desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
You daughters of Jerusalem."