Ibn-Ezra
Lust of my heart, delight of my eyes,
Ofer's by my side and there's a glass in my hand.
Many berate me but I do not heed them;
Come, Ofer, and I will vanquish them.
Time will consume them, death shall have them.
Come, Ofer, come and let me eat
The honeycomb of your lips, let me take my fill.
Why do they want to discourage me, why?
What in the world is the sin if I
Thrill to your beauty? There's Adonai!
Pay them no heed, and in their despite,
Come and caress me, stubborn wight.
He listened, and let me come home with him.
He did what I wanted, obeyed every whim.
By day and by night we dallied within.
I took off his clothes and he took off mine,
He offered his lips and I drank of their wine.
When my eyes met his
The yoke of my sins was in his hand.
He demanded action and got angry.
He cried in anger, "Enough! Leave me alone!"
Do not be cross with me, do not tease me.
Do not be angry, Ofer, so cross,
Have your way, beloved, have your way;
Kiss your darling and sate his desire.
If you want me to live give me life,
If you want me dead, just kill me.
Notes:
The author of this poem is Rabbi Moses Ibn-Ezra (Spain, 1060-1139), who was a prolific and very respected poet and innovator in Synagogue liturgy (hymns).
The parts in italics are my prose translation; the central part is a nice verse translation that I found on the web, but I do not know who made it.
Ofer is a play on words. It means "a deer" and is also the popular name of a "dear boy".
Adonai is the Hebrew word for God, the Lord.
