1. I wander lost in the wilderness of life
With no respite from the blows of fate

2. Roaming has wearied me for so long
That if the sky's colors were burdens

3. Grief darkens all that meets my eye
Stripping all joy bare and withered

4. The weight of worries binds me to the earth
Leaving no path to noble deeds

5. Like an eagle wanting to soar but unable
Alas, with wings so heavily laden

6. A night whose shadows death has cast
Enshrouding all in darkness slain

7. When lightning flickers threadlike through the gloom
The eyes can barely grasp its thrashing

8. And if spirits rise from their slumber
Their roots seem ripped up from the ground

9. My fancy embodied itself and pulled me in
I see a dream crumbling all reason

10. As if unfettered spring had given itself up
And nature's power raged uncontrollably

11. Neither morn looked for nor night ending
Nor lost souls finding guidance

12. I saw a meadow raging with growth
Thick with brambles rising high

13. I took its thorns and wound them
Around my head, a wreath so dire

14. The people cried out when they saw me
Learned and ignorant laughed alike

15. Children gathered round to tease me
Friends and loved ones turned away

16. I walked on, sparing no jaded child
Heedless of insults hurled my way

17. A voice echoed urging me on
In its beauty gentle and inclined

18. To burst through the crowd as though they were
Vainglorious rumors voiced at dawn