If it is spent, it is called night, and if it bites, it is called a snake; will someone please tell me what that coiled and twisting hair truly is?
The poet plays brilliantly with the double meaning of 'cutting' or passing time versus a venomous bite. If endured in painful separation, the beloved's dark hair feels like an endless, sleepless night; yet if it strikes the heart, it is deadlier than a coiled serpent. With playful wonder, the lover asks what these twisting, wavy tresses truly are, marveling at how beauty can be both enchanting and torturous at once.
Interpretation note: meanings and explanations may be AI-assisted and should not replace a primary text or scholarly edition. See the editorial policy.
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