1
I’ve fallen for a woman I’ve never seen;
That is, if eyes are the only source
That vision gives,
And the heart the body does not outlive.

What does it matter that she is far?
What plant laments the cloudy heights
From which falls the fragrance of food?
Why clothe myself when I am nude

And the scented earth oils my skin?
But fragrance alone does not sustain:
A drop must fall, and a bouquet
Must rise to meet its prey.

2
O, woman of my dreams, attack me fiercely.
The dreamer loves his dream!
The heart desires its counterpart!
Wound my flesh with your sharpened lips
And reach my shore on the boat of your hips.

I smell your approach: the footsteps of waves. I tremble.
Like a necklace, I fling myself around
The neck of a distant star; you’ve crashed on this beach!
O, you bring to me the hopes
Of a lifetime. I embrace you, and cope.