{The Ballad of Ballads of Solomon} O that thy mouth would give me a kiss!

and that because of the good and pleasant savour. Thy name is sweet smelling ointment when it is shed forth; therefore do the maidens love thee.

Draw thou me unto thee; we will run after thee. The king hath brought me into his privy chamber: We will be glad and rejoice in thee, we think more of thy love than of wine. They that be righteous love thee.

Marvel not at me that I am so black: For why? The sun hath shined upon me. My mother's children had evil will at me, they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept.

Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest the sheep, where thou maketh the rest at the noon day: for why shall I be like him that goeth wrong about the flocks of thy companions?

I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the Roes and hinds of the field, that ye wake not up my love nor touch her, till she be content herself.

Get us the foxes, yea the little foxes that hurt the vines, for our vines bear blossoms.

The watchmen that go about the city found me, to whom I said: Saw ye not him whom my soul loveth?

So when I was a little past them, I found him whom my soul loveth. I have gotten hold upon him, and will not let him go, until I bring him into my mother's house, and in to her chamber that bare me.

I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the Roes, and Hinds of the field, that ye wake not up my love nor touch her, till she be content herself.

Who is this, that cometh up out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, as it were a smell of Myrrh, frankincense and all manner spices of the Apothecary?

O how fair art thou, my love, how fair art thou? Thou hast doves' eyes, beside that which lieth hid within. Thy hairy locks are like the wool of a flock of goats that be shorn on Mount Gilead.

Thy teeth are like sheep that be clipped, which go first up from the washing place: where every one beareth two twins, and not one unfruitful among them.

O that I might go to the mountain of Myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense, till the day break, and till the shadows be past away.

The fruits that sprout in thee are like a very Paradise of pomegranates with sweet fruits:

Up thou North wind, come thou South wind, and blow upon my garden, that the smell thereof may be carried on every side: yea, that my beloved may come into my garden, and eat of the fruits and apples that grow therein.

so that I stood up to open unto my beloved. My hands dropped with Myrrh, and the Myrrh ran down my fingers upon the lock.

So the watchmen that went about the city found me, smote me, and wounded me: Yea they that kept the walls, took away my kerchief from me.

I charge you therefore, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him how that I am sick for love.

Who is thy love above other lovers, O thou fairest among women? Or what can thy love do, more than other lovers, that thou chargest us so straightly?

His cheeks are like a garden bed, wherein the Apothecaries plant all manner of sweet things; His lips are like roses that drop sweet smelling Myrrh.

Whither is thy love gone then, O thou fairest among women; whither is thy love departed, that we may seek him with thee?

My love is gone down into his garden, unto the sweet smelling beds, that he may refresh himself in the garden, and gather flowers.

Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that be clipped, which go out of the washing place: where every one beareth two twins, and not one unfruitful among them.

But one is my dove, my darling. She is the only beloved of her mother, and dear unto her that bare her. When the daughters saw her, they said, she was blessed: Yea the Queens and concubines praised her.

What is she, this that peepeth out as the morning, fair as the moon, excellent as the sun, glorious as an army of men with their banners?

Turn again, turn again, O thou Shulamite; turn again, turn again, that we may look upon thee. What pleasure have ye more in the Shulamite, than when she danceth among the men of war?

That head that standeth upon thee is like Carmel; the hair of thy head is like the king's purple folden up in plates.

O that I might find thee without, and kiss thee, whom I love as my brother which sucked my mother's breasts: and that thou wouldest not be offended,

if I took thee, and brought thee into my mother's house - that thou mightest teach me, and that I might give thee drink of spiced wine and of the sweet sap of my pomegranates.

I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, that ye wake not up my love, nor touch her, till she be content herself. What is she, this that cometh up from the wilderness, and leaneth upon her love?

I am the same that waked thee up among the apple trees, where thy mother bare thee, where thy mother brought thee in to the world.

so that many waters are not able to quench love, neither may the streams drown it. Yea, if a man would give all the good of his house for love, he should count it nothing.

I am a wall, and my breasts like towers, then was I as one that hath found favour in his sight.

Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; this vineyard delivered he unto the keepers, that every one for the fruit thereof should give him a thousand pieces of silver.

Thou that dwellest in the gardens, O let me hear thy voice, that my companions may hearken to the same.