1. Oh, how I wish the old days would come back,
The days of joyous, carefree youth.

2. When cheerfulness departed as time passed by
And sorrow came to stay, not to leave.

3. Childhood bid farewell, its dreams all scattered,
Carried off by a destiny that alters all.

4. The fingers of fate reaped its wishes and they fell
Like ears of wheat harvested by a sickle.

5. So the soul is a lute gone mute, its strings all severed,
And the heart a barren wasteland.

6. While the white of old age laughs in my temples -
This laughing, oh my heart, is but tears.

7. I yearn for your era, oh youth, like a deer
Thirsts for water in the desert.

8. When life seems to me a temple
Where beauty's sighs chant on.

9. The words of every lovely lady I meet
Are like solace itself or holy revelation.

10. My friends and I never worry about tomorrow,
As if there is no tomorrow or future.

11. We play and fool around, not caring where
A humble hut or a mansion will shelter us.

12. Our pride makes us imagine life is fulfilled by us,
As if it's complete for us and incomplete for others.

13. We imagine the moon rises in the gloom
Just to chat with us, so we're not bored.

14. We believe the meadow spreads its scent
For us, and just for us the nightingale sings.

15. We fancy the flowers are maidens
And the meadow a poet composing verse.

16. In everything we see only joy and happiness
In all we imagine.

17. Nothing disturbs our souls in life,
No mishap or trouble or dilemma.

18. As if we live in a world unlike the one
Where crowds push and feet trample.

19. As if we are a band of stars in space,
No matter what happens on earth, we are unshaken.

20. People struggle to survive, while our concern
Is a brimming cup and kohl around the eyes.

21. How they scolded us for passion and went too far!
Had they tasted passion's joy they'd not blame.

22. Had they, like us, sampled the fruits of love,
Their souls would be sated, even unfed.

23. They accused us of loose ways, yet were not so themselves.
The truth is we are all unrestrained.

24. Deprived of love's bliss, they missed out, while we attained
Shattered dreams - so who is more foolish now?

25. Observing people, I'm struck by how
Life treats them, rising and falling each day.

26. They don't steer their course through changing events
Except as the sieve guides the water.

27. A lad with shining eyes and features
Becomes, in a flash, faded and neglected.

28. My friend, as our days fade away
Regardless of whether you heed this or not:

29. Remembrance is the most precious thing you possess or will possess,
And love is the noblest you've given or will ever give.

30. It's said that Zayd grew rich, and you should be like him.
I'm just like him, if not better!

31. The sun shines on both him and me,
As does the radiance of morn, the stars and beggars.

32. But vitality, my friend,
Is a fleeting thing, expansive yet roaming.

33. As long as you're with me, loyal and true,
Then I am the wealthy one, not the begging one.

34. I do not consider one speck of gold equal to a mind,
Nor sell minds for what is mindless.