song of solomon

Song of Solomon 2:10-13
My beloved responded and said to me,
'Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along.
'For behold, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
'The flowers have already appeared in the land;
The time has arrived for pruning the vines,
And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.
'The fig tree has ripened its figs,
And the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.
Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along!'

Song of Solomon 8
Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy[1] unyielding as the grave.[2] It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.[3]

Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it[4] would be utterly scorned.

possible reading from Captain Corelli's Mandolin

Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your root was so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. that is just being in love, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Those that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.

from: 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' by Louis de Bernieres