Parted Lovers - Jehudah Ha-Levi
Wherefore, Oh fair one, dost withhold thy messengers
From the lover whose frame is filled with the pains of thee?
Knowest thou not that thy lover awaiteth nothing from fate
But to hear the voice of thy greeting?
If parting be decreed for the two of us,
Stand yet a little, while I gaze upon thy face.
I know not if my heart be held back within my frame
Or if it goeth forth upon thy wanderings.
By the life of love, remember the days of thy longing, as I-
I remember the nights of thy delight.
As thine image passeth into my dream,
So let me pass, I entreat thee, into thy dreams.
Between me and thee roar the waves of a sea of tears
And I cannot pass over unto thee.
But O if thy steps should draw nigh to cross-
Then would its waters be divided at the touch of thy foot.
Would that after my death, unto mine ears should come
The sound of the golden bells upon thy skirts!
Or shouldst thou be asking how fareth thy beloved, I from the depths of the tomb
Would ask of thy love and thy welfare.
Verily, to the shedding of mine heart's blood….
I but desire to add years unto the years of thy life…
I cannot hear thy voice, but I hear
Upon the secret places of my heart, the sound of thy steps.
On the day when thou wilt revive
The victims whom love for thee hath slain-
on the day when thy dead shall live anew,
Then turn again to my soul to restore it to my body; for on the day
Of thy departure, when thou wentest forth, it went out after thee.
Ask, O doe of grace, for the peace of thy lover,
Should Time ask of thee thy request.
Return, so our God shall restore thee to the haven
Of thy desire, and to the land of thy true belonging.
From the lover whose frame is filled with the pains of thee?
Knowest thou not that thy lover awaiteth nothing from fate
But to hear the voice of thy greeting?
If parting be decreed for the two of us,
Stand yet a little, while I gaze upon thy face.
I know not if my heart be held back within my frame
Or if it goeth forth upon thy wanderings.
By the life of love, remember the days of thy longing, as I-
I remember the nights of thy delight.
As thine image passeth into my dream,
So let me pass, I entreat thee, into thy dreams.
Between me and thee roar the waves of a sea of tears
And I cannot pass over unto thee.
But O if thy steps should draw nigh to cross-
Then would its waters be divided at the touch of thy foot.
Would that after my death, unto mine ears should come
The sound of the golden bells upon thy skirts!
Or shouldst thou be asking how fareth thy beloved, I from the depths of the tomb
Would ask of thy love and thy welfare.
Verily, to the shedding of mine heart's blood….
I but desire to add years unto the years of thy life…
I cannot hear thy voice, but I hear
Upon the secret places of my heart, the sound of thy steps.
On the day when thou wilt revive
The victims whom love for thee hath slain-
on the day when thy dead shall live anew,
Then turn again to my soul to restore it to my body; for on the day
Of thy departure, when thou wentest forth, it went out after thee.
Ask, O doe of grace, for the peace of thy lover,
Should Time ask of thee thy request.
Return, so our God shall restore thee to the haven
Of thy desire, and to the land of thy true belonging.