Ah! Thou wouldst not suffer me to kiss thy mouth, Iokanaan. Well! I will kiss it now. I will bite it with my teeth as one bites a ripe fruit. Thou rejectedst me, Iokanaan. Thou didst bear thyself toward me as to a harlot, as to a woman who is wanton, to me, Salome, daughter of Herodias, Princess of Judea! Well, I still live, but thou art dead, and thy head belongs to me. I love thee yet, Iokanaan. I am athirst for thy beauty, I am hungry for thy body, and neither wine nor apples can appease my desire. What shall I do now, Iokanaan?
Ah! I have kissed thy mouth, Iokanaan, I have kissed thy mouth. There was a bitter taste on thy lips. Was it the taste of blood? Nay, but perchance it was the taste of love. They say that love hath a bitter taste. But what matter? What matter? I have kissed thy mouth, Iokanaan. I have kissed thy mouth!
Set courtesy of
_fight_evil_
Severed head courtesy of
Coralee