Apologias

I disappeared for four days because I was out of town. New York hasn't changed much. It is a world unto itself, a place of almost solar intensity from the mass of people crammed into such a little space. As to why I was there, I will simply say:




Ah, you are beautiful, my beloved,

ah, you are beautiful!

Your eyes are doves

behind your veil.

Your hair is like a flock of goats

streaming down the mountains of Gilead.

Your teeth are like a flock of ewes to be shorn,

which come up from the washing.

All of them big with twins, none of them thin and barren.

Your lips are like a scarlet strand;

your mouth is lovely.

Your cheek is like a half-pomegranate

behind your veil.



You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride,

you have ravished my heart with one glance of your eyes,

with one bead of your necklace.

How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride,

how much more delightful is your love than wine,

and the fragrance of your ointments

than all spices!

Your lips drip honey, my bride,

sweetmeants and milk are under your tongue;

And the fragrance of your garments

is the fragrance of Lebanon.

-Song of Songs 4:1-3, 9-11