1. I had a friend whose youth was fleeting, he cared not for my dignity or pride,
He thought his shadow would accompany me, forever by my side.

2. But we parted as if he were a phantom, and I had dreamed him in a hazy veil,
If a man's fate depended on his strength, I'd face the darkest lions in their trail.

3. Yet it flows from prior decree, ordained for mankind it dictates their affair,
So it runs its course within them, doling out life with neither justice nor care.