1. Like this star in its setting
And like the beloved in his absence

2. Strutting across the expanse of the sky, wandering
As though he struts in his coldness

3. If you wish, he is the king on his throne
Or if you wish, he is the babe in his cradle

4. He glances at me as though I covet
His glory, while he deems me greedy

5. He hustles but hustles not toward an end
Like one who finds purpose in his seriousness

6. It's as though he seeks something lost
Unable to endure the separation

7. Long has his vigil been, lost in confusion
Like the grieved one in his torment

8. On the wings of a grim, blazing night
As though my lot had fled its skin

9. The blind envy him not, beholding
Both have strayed from the path

10. Worry beset me and I beset it
How feeble is man against diverting it

11. How wondrous is fate and its cycles
In the eye of one who examines its critique

12. You tried it an age, and nothing pleased me
Of its jest, nor its seriousness

13. Greater than it, that I renounce
Never did the ascetic in his asceticism renounce

14. Greater than me, this, and I am greater
That I aspire to aspire to its bestowal

15. It promised me wonders in the world
Ever since I left, I marvel at its spite

16. Oh Lord, make below me a deterrent
I marveled at my luck and its joy

17. And one who struts atop the dust
Better than him is the dead in his grave

18. He plucks roses from their thorns
While I pluck thorns from their roses

19. I lie if I believe him after
Learning his lies in his vows

20. I complain not of harm when it comes
From him, nor rejoice in his plenty

21. I know misery is guaranteed
And plenty is sure to vanish

22. When nights draw near a departure
And you yearn for their sweetness

23. I divert myself from it in its nearness
Fearing the loneliness of its distance

24. And if I see sorrow for one gone
Sorrow harmed me, not finding him