1. The abode of chastity did not shelter me,
Its resident, like the scripture’s inscription.

2. I felt lonesome after family and friends
Nearby chatterers with shabby clothes.

3. Their cheeks as clear as the udder’s cow,
The fever’s eye the duties of hilltops.

4. What preoccupied me was remembering my state
In prison, the servant of the book.

5. Stop blaming my mind and religion
And my pursuit of knowledge through every door.

6. You knew me when that was my first pursuit
In prison, the craft of literature.