1. My father berates the unruly though they've done no wrong,
And stains me with guilt though I am free of stain.

2. Were it my choice, a great desert would lie between us,
A vast plain for mounts, an unbridgeable domain.

3. I dwell as though among the wretched and the outcast;
My soul is galled, my heart is wrung with pain.

4. Once high of spirit, now naught remains within me,
Save ruins pelted by sorrows like driving rain.

5. When I say the past is done, beyond retrieving,
What was unfixed comes hurtling back again.

6. While men of meager worth aspire to heights,
How far above their reach have I attained!

7. Say to those who envy me my greatness blindly:
Will you awaken fire by blowing at cold ash?

8. You are but patchwork, make-believe and empty show,
No glowing coal, no fire your breath could fan.