Come, Beloved, to greet the bride,
A single utterance yields years of happiness.
A love found need never be lost;
It only takes courage, and a vault of faith.
Arise, Beloved! from the valley of tears
You mustn’t mourn failure before you’ve ventured out
Lest she remain, as of old, ordained:
Last in deed, first in thought.
Too often when we save the best for last
It ends up gone, having
Despaired of waiting,
Or found happiness with another.
You spend ages planning—then scrapping—how you’ll confess it,
Your confidence always giving out, such has been your life
But she knows not of catastrophes rendered in your mind
Nor her regular features in your dreams.
What good is your imagined wedding,
If you never tell her?
Don’t let the longing be for naught,
She is the one, and it is time.
For your light has come, arise and shine!
Come, Beloved, greet the bride.
Author’s Note: This is an experiment with found poetry based on Lecha Dodi, a song from Jewish liturgy. Many of the words are my own, inspired by the words of the prayer.
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