Outshining any jeweled necklace,
my song exceeds them all in beauty;
Forever may it grace the throats
of those adoring Krishna as their duty.
Krishna’s obliging, dear Radha—so go to him!

11.10

‘“She’ll look at me,’ he said, ‘And speak of love
as she caresses every part of my body.
She’ll be delighted and satisfied, my friend,
when we make love.’
With a troubled heart, your lover searches for you
in the gloomy darkness of the forest grove.
He trembles, sweats, bristles with desire,
rejoices, goes to meet you, and then he faints.”

“Throughout the forest, like a black shawl,
the night camouflages the bodies
of fair-eyed women, my friend,
as they thrill with the joy of clandestine love:
It is the dark mascara on their eyes,
the blackwood blossoms behind their ears,
the wreathes of dark lotuses adorning their hair,
and the dark designs of dusky musk on their breasts.”