Then I became in his eyes as one who finds fulfillment.
Song of Solomon, 8.10.

That completeness is underscored by the word likely at the root of their names�shalom, which indicates wholeness and fulfillment. No wonder the Song says both have eyes like doves. The eyes are the windows to the soul, and since the two lovers� souls are alike, their eyes reflect the same qualities.

Perhaps they recognized this the first time they met. In recounting that moment, Shulamith says, �I became in his eyes as one who finds fulfillment��shalom (8:10). What a wonderful play on words in the original language: Shulamith finds shalom in Shulomoh. They find contentment in each other.

The Song clearly presents the couple as soulmates. It is not simply a likeness in their names or their eyes. Everything about them shows an elegant compatibility: their equally artistic speech; their mutual desire for emotional and physical intimacy; their common interests and values; their mature love and devotion. They experience a wonderful oneness, and their names and eyes are but the artistic expression of that reality.

Contemporary culture has generated numerous �ideal� couples. The last generation had Gable and Lombard, Bogie and Bacall. We have Brad and Jennifer, the fictitious Ken and Barbie, or a vague Mr. and Mrs. Right. But even with time and cultural differences between us, I like Solomon and Shulamith best because they show me the elegant beauty of romantic love.

They also show the path to the richest experience of love . . . Solomon�s Song of Love, p. 116.