Read the Bible

¹ I am the spring crocus blooming on the Sharon Plain,^[a]
    the lily of the valley.

² Like a lily among thistles
    is my darling among young women.

³ Like the finest apple tree in the orchard
    is my lover among other young men.
I sit in his delightful shade
    and taste his delicious fruit.
⁴ He escorts me to the banquet hall;
    it's obvious how much he loves me.
⁵ Strengthen me with raisin cakes,
    refresh me with apples,
    for I am weak with love.
⁶ His left arm is under my head,
    and his right arm embraces me.

⁷ Promise me, O women of Jerusalem,
    by the gazelles and wild deer,
    not to awaken love until the time is right.^[b]

⁸ Ah, I hear my lover coming!
    He is leaping over the mountains,
    bounding over the hills.
⁹ My lover is like a swift gazelle
    or a young stag.
Look, there he is behind the wall,
    looking through the window,
    peering into the room.

¹⁰ My lover said to me,
    "Rise up, my darling!
    Come away with me, my fair one!
¹¹ Look, the winter is past,
    and the rains are over and gone.
¹² The flowers are springing up,
    the season of singing birds^[c] has come,
    and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air.
¹³ The fig trees are forming young fruit,
    and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming.
Rise up, my darling!
    Come away with me, my fair one!"

¹⁴ My dove is hiding behind the rocks,
    behind an outcrop on the cliff.
Let me see your face;
    let me hear your voice.
For your voice is pleasant,
    and your face is lovely.

¹⁵ Catch all the foxes,
    those little foxes,
before they ruin the vineyard of love,
    for the grapevines are blossoming!

¹⁶ My lover is mine, and I am his.
    He browses among the lilies.
¹⁷ Before the dawn breezes blow
    and the night shadows flee,
return to me, my love, like a gazelle
    or a young stag on the rugged mountains.^[d]