Come to me at dawn, love
Come to me at dawn, love,
carry me away;
For in my heart I have a thirst
to see my folk today.
For you, love, golden mats
within my halls I’ll spread.
I’ll set my table for you,
I’ll serve you my own bread.
A drink from my own vineyards
I’ll pour to fill your cup—
heartily you’ll drink, love,
heartily you’ll sup.
I’ll take my pleasure with you
as once I had such joy
with Jesse’s son, my people’s prince,
that Bethlehem boy.
Translated by Raymond P. Scheindlin.
Credits
Solomon Ibn Gabirol, “Come to me at dawn, love,” from Vulture in A Cage: Poems by Solomon Ibn Gabirol, trans. Raymond P. Scheindlin (Brooklyn, N.Y.: Archipelago Books, 2016), 319. Used by permission of the publisher.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 3: Encountering Christianity and Islam.