1. Dance, O stars, around me in the night
And follow, O mountains, in the earth my shadow

2. And sing out, O nightingales of the river, beneath me
With the songs of your watering brook

3. And lift up to me, O meadow, and bring near
Blossoms from your lush grass

4. Steep them in their fragrance and call
Feet that have never set foot in humiliation

5. They have mocked the wounds from the claws of fiends
And fangs of every creeping adder

6. And carry, O winds, my voice to the valley and roar
With all sorrow and plain

7. And waft, with love, O night breeze
And be to the loved ones my envoy

8. For in the camp of the tribe there is a fire
That has kindled for me at the tents of my family

9. The maidens danced around it and sang
With the songs of their burgeoning youth

10. The voice of Africa and the inspiration of her dawn
And the call of the ages after me and before me

11. In her immortal name I brandished my sword
With a hand that lowers fortunes and raises them

12. And I drank the wine from every sun
Whose fire melts rocks and ruins them

13. And I conquered life until it was as if
I was fate, which writes calamities as I dictate

14. O virtuous maidens of the tribe, you are for glory
On a chastity that grants generosity

15. My gloomy soul and my wounds suffice
For a draught from your lovely eyes

16. And your smiles above lips
That have intimated to me the meanings of life

17. When I meet my husband at the door of my hut
And lull my child in my arms to sleep

18. And I sleep the brief night in order to polish
My blade in the dawning morn