Meeting between Queen of Sheba and King Solomon Piero della Francesca, 1464
"I came across a wonderful poem by Steve Scafidi called “Prayer for a Marriage,” in which the poet talks about him and his wife kissing on their wedding day, and he prays that the desire they shared then will not fade—“from the wild first surprising [kisses] to the lower dizzy ten thousand infinitely slower ones.” He ends, “and I hope while we stand there in the kitchen [later in life] making tea and kissing, the whistle of the teapot wakes the neighbors.”31 Pray for your marriage. Pray for desire. Pray for prolonged kissing in the kitchen."
Read Solomon's Song of Love, by Douglas Sean O'Donnell at Bible Study Tools
1 "On my bed night after night I sought him Whom my soul loves; I sought him but did not find him.
2 'I must arise now and go about the city; In the streets and in the squares I must seek him whom my soul loves.' I sought him but did not find him.
3 "The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me, And I said, 'Have you seen him whom my soul loves?'
4 "Scarcely had I left them When I found him whom my soul loves; I held on to him and would not let him go Until I had brought him to my mother's house, And into the room of her who conceived me."
5 "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the hinds of the field, That you will not arouse or awaken my love Until she pleases."
6 "What is this coming up from the wilderness Like columns of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all scented powders of the merchant?
7 "Behold, it is the traveling couch of Solomon; Sixty mighty men around it, Of the mighty men of Israel.
8 "All of them are wielders of the sword, Expert in war ; Each man has his sword at his side, Guarding against the terrors of the night.
9 "King Solomon has made for himself a sedan chair From the timber of Lebanon.
10 "He made its posts of silver, Its back of gold And its seat of purple fabric, With its interior lovingly fitted out By the daughters of Jerusalem.
11 "Go forth, O daughters of Zion, And gaze on King Solomon with the crown With which his mother has crowned him On the day of his wedding, And on the day of his gladness of heart."
Song of Solomon 3
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