Classic Poem

Chorus .

F AIR virgin, parallel'd by none,
O whither's thy Beloved gone?
Direct our forward zeal, that we
May join in this pursuit with thee.

S PONSA .

B EHOLD , the More-than-life-desir'd
Down to His garden is retir'd;
There gathers flow'rs, feasts in the shade,
On beds of bruised spices laid.
Our mutual flame all flames exceeds:
My Dear among the lilies feeds.

S PONSUS .

Not regal Tirzah, Israel's
Delight, thy beauty, Love, excels:
Not thou, divine Jerusalem,
That art of all the world the gem;
Nor armies with their ensigns spread,
So threaten with amazing dread.
O turn from me thy wounding eyes!
In ev'ry glance an arrow flies!
Thy dangling hair appears like flocks
Of climbing goats from Gilead's rocks.
Thy teeth, like sheep in their return
From Chison, wash'd and smoothly shorn;
None mark'd for barren, none of all
But equal twins at once let fall.
Thy cheeks like Punic apples are,
Which blush beneath thy flowing hair.
They boast of many queens, great store
Of concubines, and virgins more
Than can be told: My undefil'd
Is all in one; the only child
Of her fair mother; and brought forth
To show the world an unknown worth.
Queens, virgins, concubines, beheld,
Admir'd, and bless'd th' unparallel'd.

Chorus .

W HO'S this, who like the morning shews,
When she her paths with roses strews?
More fair than the replenish'd moon,
More radiant than the sun at noon?
Not armies with their ensigns spread,
So threaten with amazing dread.

S PONSUS .

I TO My pleasant gardens went,
Where nutmegs breathe a fragrant scent,
To see the gen'rous fruits which grac'd
The pregnant vale with springs enchac'd;
To see the vines disclose their gems,
And granates blooming on their stems.
Then unaware, and half amaz'd,
Methought My ravish'd soul was rais'd
Up to a chariot, swift as winds,
Drawn by My people's willing minds.

Chorus .

R ETURN , fair Shulamite, return
'To us who for thy absence mourn.
What see you in the Shulamite?
Two armies prevalent in fight.