1. Stay aloof though you dwell near our abode,
Spare lives and spare souls the bitterness of estrangement.

2. For time has made easy the hardships of separation between us,
Your disdain is sweeter than the intimacies of others.

3. We are content to suffer your displeasure in nearness,
And to choose estrangement though you are near.

4. For we see glory in estrangement, and greater glory still in remoteness.