1. He recalled his empty days gone by
As tears flowed copiously from his eye

2. I say to the one cloaked in sorrow
Who is this rain, fervent at the seam?

3. On the soft grass dressed in meadows
Your dispute and the flowing cup between us

4. On the rise of nobility we sang of it
Better than the dawn in the darkening night

5. So how many desolate gazelles are there
And how many gardens now deserted

6. And a beauty when her splendor fades
As her past years go marching by

7. And a populated place made of statues
One day finds itself empty

8. The sun did not give its musician
Nor did the arch conceal in the ruins

9. A toast to its frolicking gazelles
And its tallest minarets in decay

10. The coy glance of the charmer
Stamps definitively on the circumstance

11. A scent etched on a cheek
As a rose etched with henna

12. Hunting grounds where I hunted its gazelles
And contended with its vicious lions

13. When the birds sang at dawn there
I imagined the singers were rejoicing

14. And when its shepherds were entertained
Like mothers cradling babes crying

15. I found my joy completely in it
And shook its cup in agreement

16. If I see it safe I will greet it
And climb its lofty pillars

17. And if I sneak into a bar
I will die happy in debauchery

18. My friend winks at my hand
And my eyes hint to the cupbearer

19. I precede the first prayers in drunkenness
And loosen the reins toward the next

20. I strike the ground with my axe
Either for me or against me

21. If you are a meadow for eternity
Let me be the kindling of the abyss

22. And if you call to a creed
I am calling to abandon it