1. I must cast my cares aside
And fold myself beneath the blankets' spread,

2. When night falls I see my heart
Is a child weaned from his mother's breast.

3. The fates have always opened my eyes
To life's most awful miseries,

4. In the gloom of the tomb we have a refuge
That reveals the horror of this harsh life.

5. When I die, bury me gently
Where the clouds' shadows will visit me.

6. The dew will glisten at my grave
Where the wild animals' traces remain.

7. The doves will sing to me in their nests
As the breeze and the shadows gather.

8. They will remind me of our nights
Linked in unbroken happiness.

9. But dreams only console the sick,
I have no hope, and yet—

10. When death seizes me,
And one day holds my reins,

11. What use is a lover's phantom
Who visits you with greetings and peace?

12. How can he bar your way when you still live
And dwell with you each eve in the burial grounds?