Ancient Egyptian Love

SHE:

Love, how I'd love to slip down to the pond, bathe with you close by on the bank.

Just for you I'd wear my new Memphis swimsuit, made of sheer linen, fit for a queen--Come see how it looks in the water!

Couldn't I coax you to wade in with me? Let the cool creep slowly around us?

Then I'd dive deep down and come up for you dripping,

Let you fill your eyes with the little red fish that I'd catch.

And I'd say, standing there tall in the shallws:

Look at my fish, love, how it lies in my hand,

How my fingers caress it, slip down its sides...

But then I'd say softer, eyes bright with your seeing:

A gift, love. No words.

Come close and look, it's all me.

~Love Songs of the New Kingdom, translated from Ancient Egyptian by John L. Foster.