Mirra Lokhvitskaya
The Queen of Sheba

“Put me, like a seal, on your heart. Like a signet-ring on your hand, for love is as powerful as death.”
— Solomon’s “Song of Songs,” 8, 6.

Bathing in the sun’s gold rays,
In the warm azure of the firmament,
Twelve doves flew south
Far from Zion.

    Pining, the queen had long awaited
    Her plumed guests —
    And into the golden-purple tent
    Their lively flock drifted...

She went to meet them,
Descending from her shimmering throne,
Slender — like the palm of En-gedi,¹
Fresh, like the rose of Jericho...²

    Suddenly her beautiful face
    Was bathed in a tender, burning blush.
    And a snow-white dove
    Alit upon her bare shoulder.

From its scarlet beak
She quickly took, with trembling hand,
A message... The swarm of slave girls
Fell silent and froze expectantly...

    Just o’er her crowned head
    A large fan barely rustled...
    The queen, with downcast eyes,
    Harkened to the royal message.

        And each word of it,
        It seemed, found echo
        In her breast, where before
        Self-will alone had dwelt:

“I kiss the delicate traces
Of my queen’s lovely feet!
Her eyes, like two stars,
Glimmer through dark lashes...
What say I?.. two stars?!...
Bright flashes of summer lightning are they!
And by them is my heart consumed,
Filled with the madness of love!

O, who can compare with her,
With my beloved! Her cheeks
Are like lilies, flowers of the field,
Drenched in the evening’s glow...
What say I?! — the lily’s bloom?! —
Scarlet roses are her cheeks!
And by them is my heart enraptured,
Filled with the madness of love!

How intoxicatingly subtle
The perfumes of her gown!
She captivates the eye, like the light of the moon,
The charm of a wondrous beauty...
What say I?! — The light of the moon?! —
Rather the brilliance of the southern sun!
And by it is my heart bedazzled,
Filled with the madness of love!”

II

    The slave had finished... But far away
    The Queen’s dreams have drawn her,
    There, to the promised land,
    “Where milk and honey flow...”
    Where an intoxicating well bubbles into a brook
    And the juice of amber wines trickles,
    Where the multibranched terebinth3 grows,
    And a canopy of plantains and olive trees...

Where palaces with their fairy tale glitter
Outshine the splendor of the southern lands,
Where myrrh, incense, and saffron
Stream fragrances from censers...
Seven steps... and a resplendent throne...
And, illuminated by most sublime glory,

    He — the fragrant blossom of the valleys,
    “The narcissus of Sharon” — Solomon!..⁴
    O moment, remembered by her even now,
    When, under that powerful and vital gaze,
    She, a seeming goddess,
    Stood before him —
    Before victory or disgrace.
    Her involuntary fear concealed,
    With a slyly lowered gaze,
    With a subtle smile on her lips...

        — “What does Your Highness command
        In reply to the King of the East?” —
        Roused from her wondrous dream,
        Her lashes softly trembled...

More flushed than the rose of Jericho,
Still under the sweet dream’s spell,
To Solomon’s winged messengers
She spoke with a sigh:

    — “Not from the Queen — from his slave
    Tell your King That I worship him.
    And he gladdens my heart,
    That I marvel at his wisdom.
    His power, his wealth, his land...
    I love him!.. And long to join him!..
    I am consumed by our love!..”

____
1. En-gedi — an ancient oasis on the western shore of the Dead Sea, famed for its vineyards. For more information, see Joshua 15:62; I. Sam. 24:1-4; Cant. 1:14 Ezek. 47:10; II. Chron. 20:2.

2. Rose of Jericho — a desert plant, Anastatica hierochuntica. It belongs to the mustard family and is native to Asia Minor, which includes the ancient city of Jericho that Joshua destroyed.

3. Terebinth — an anacardiaceous tree, Pistacia Terebinthia, of the Mediterranean regions, yielding chian turpentine.

4. Reference to the rose of Sharon of Bible (Cant. 2:1). The rose mentioned here is thought to be either a narcissus or the meadow saffron. In general, the rose of Sharon is the name of several plants, especially certain varieties of hibiscus and St. John’s wort.

Translated by Temira Pachmuss