1. O companion whose absence grieved me,
Nearness to a companion brought me no joy.

2. Though absent from my sight,
You're not absent from my thoughts.

3. Do you not see how time carries us along
Like the running of the mounted beast with its rider?

4. Visit me, for I make up for what we missed
Of our fleeting life.

5. I have a little date liquor, a welcome gift
From a jurist to a penitent.

6. Its aroma is like ambergris
With which the drinker perfumes his drink.

7. Our room is a sanctuary for learning
Prepared like a monk’s cell.

8. My companion behind books of authority
Next to me under the jars.

9. When people smell it, it humbles them,
And I swear by the Seeker, the Victorious.

10. If it's seen, I say it's oil of nimkhath
With which I treat the pain of the lovelorn.

11. People won’t deny, if you visit me,
A jurist’s quest for a scribe.

12. So hello to comfort before lessons
And don’t make keening obligatory.

13. Take it for its highest price
And don’t envy the scribe.

14. Claim it’s a gem,
For that’s the seeker’s purpose.