My beloved speaks and say to me:  “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.

The flowers appear on the earth;  The time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land.

The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; They give forth fragrance.

Arise my love, my fair one, and come away.  Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; For love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave.

Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame.  Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.

If one offered for love all the wealth of one’s house, it would be utterly scorned.”