My Heart was Split

Odes of Solomon

King Solomon ( 1^st century)

My heart was split, and a flower appeared:

and grace sprang up;

and it bore fruit for my God.

You split me, tore my heart

open, filled me with love.

You poured your spirit into me;

I knew you as I know myself.

Speaking waters touched me

from your fountain, the source of life.

I swallowed them and was drunk with the water that never dies.

And my drunkenness was insight,

intimacy with your spirit.

And you have made all things new;

you have showed me all things shining.

You have granted me perfect ease;

I have become like Paradise,

a garden whose fruit is joy;

and you are the sun upon me.

My eyes are radiant with your spirit;

my nostrils fill with your fragrance.

My ears delight in your music,

and my face is covered with your dew.

Blessed are the men and women

who are planted on your earth, in your garden,

who grow as your trees and flowers grow,

who transform their darkness to light.

Their roots plunge into darkness;

their faces turn toward the light.

All those who love you are beautiful;

they overflow with your presence

so that they can do nothing but good.

There is infinite space in your garden;

all men, all women are welcome here;

all they need do is enter.