8I said, “I will climb the palm tree

and take hold of its fruit.”

May your breasts be like grape clusters,

and the fragrance of your breath like apples.

9May your kisses be as exciting as the best wine,

flowing gently over lips and teeth.^b

Young Woman

10I am my lover’s,

and he claims me as his own.

11Come, my love, let us go out to the fields

and spend the night among the wildflowers.^c

12Let us get up early and go to the vineyards

to see if the grapevines have budded,

if the blossoms have opened,

and if the pomegranates have bloomed.

There I will give you my love.

13There the mandrakes give off their fragrance,

and the finest fruits are at our door,

new delights as well as old,

which I have saved for you, my lover.