1. The clay forgot for a moment that it was just clay,
So it strutted arrogantly and acted pompously.

2. It clothed its body in silk, so it became conceited,
And filled its purse with money, so it rebelled.

3. My brother, do not turn your face from me disdainfully,
I am not just a lump, and you are not a precious gem.

4. You did not weave the silk you wear,
Nor string the pearls you flaunt.

5. When hungry, it's not succulent fruits you eat,
Nor do you drink vintage wines when thirsty.

6. In your coat of wool, you're just like me
In my old clothes, suffering and feeling joy.

7. You have hopes and dreams in the world of light,
While darkness hangs over me.

8. But my heart, like yours, has beautiful, tender dreams-
For it is not rigid and hard.

9. My dreams are all made of dust,
While yours are made of alabaster.

10. My dreams are bound to fade away,
While you expect yours to last forever.

11. But neither will last, both will vanish,
For what thing endures eternally?

12. You who are so arrogant - when misfortune strikes you,
Won't you complain? Won't you moan?

13. And when your lover abandons you,
Won't memory's call make you burn?

14. Like me, your face beams when life is kind,
And in times of sorrow, it withers.

15. My tears are vinegar while yours are honey,
My weeping is cheap, while yours is precious.

16. My smile is a mirage, containing no water,
While your smiles are shimmering pearls.

17. The same sun shades us both,
Scorching my eyes while yours go blind.

18. The same moon looms over us,
On cottage and castle both it shines.

19. If to your eyes its light is radiant,
To me, from my hut, it appears black.

20. The stars you see, I also see,
When they fade, and when they glow bright.

21. You are not nearer to them though wealthy,
While I, though deprived, am not far.

22. You and I both come from dust, and back to dust
We will return, my friend- So why the aloofness and rebuff?

23. As infants we were peers, and as bent old men,
We will be equal, quavering side by side.

24. I do not know where I came from, what I was,
Or what I will be tomorrow, O friend!

25. Do you know? Then enlighten me! If not,
Why do you assume you are matchless?

26. Does the palace belong to you, guarded by soldiers,
Surrounded by walls you have built?

27. Then forbid the night to cast its veil upon it,
And mist to wrap round its heights!

28. See how the light enters without asking permission -
It does not even knock, yet is not turned away.

29. One grave is all that will be your share and mine -
Do you know how much of it will be yours?

30. You denied me shelter when storms raged
And I sought refuge, while the sky darkened and grew cold.

31. Yet the dog finds shelter there, and food,
While the donkey, like the dog, is given fodder.

32. So I heard life laughing at me
As I hoped in you, and you refused and rejected me.

33. Does that lovely garden belong to you,
With its water, birds and blooming flowers?

34. Then restrain the wind from shaking and twisting
The trees - for it makes them sway.

35. And calm the water in the pond, order it
Not to ripple except when you are present.

36. The birds will not care if you or I listen
When they sing - they will warble on unimpeded.

37. And the flowers will not mock my poverty,
Nor fawn over you for your wealth.

38. Does the river belong to you? It is a path
For the gentle breeze, and home to the birds.

39. At night the gray hairs bathe in it, seeming
To turn even colder in its chilly water.

40. You claim it is yours - but does it flow
In the veins of trees by your command?

41. It was here before you came and will remain
After you go, ebbing and flowing as always.

42. Do you own these fields? The bees gather
Nectar from their flowers, freely wandering.

43. I see the ants have a vast kingdom
They built with toil, with sweat and labor.

44. You are a trespasser in their land, a thief
Who has ravaged it, leaving destruction in your wake.

45. If you owned all the fields on earth, by force,
You would not be happier than a meadow butterfly.

46. Are you more beautiful than the rose, more fragrant?
Are you more generous, more bountiful?

47. Or are you mighty? The gnat draws nourishment
From your cheeks, and your hands cannot drive it away.

48. Or are you wealthy? Never! You swagger only
Because the lowly worm spins for you silk robes.

49. Or are you powerful? Then command sleep
To leave you, and drive old age from your temples.

50. Are you all knowing? What is that fancy
Which steals through your mind in the depth of night?

51. What is this life you discern, then loses sight of?
What is this time you blame, then sing praise of?

52. O clay! You are not purer or loftier
Than dust I trample or use as a pillow.

53. whether you crumble or do not crumble, still
You are but a driven slave, a subjugated thing.

54. Any palace you build will someday decay,
Any robe you weave will one day unravel.

55. Do not let your heart become a home for strife -
My heart has become a temple for the beloved.

56. I have more right to love than you, am worthier of it
Than a garment which wears out or wealth which dwindles.