1. One evening I sat when dusk had fallen
And my day had passed with no companion

2. I rest legs wearied by exhaustion
And from my seat observe the world

3. I observe it, oh how this observer toils!
In the goodness of creation and its ruin

4. And this strange clamor does not care
That an onlooker watches from its shore

5. It matters not what I know or don’t know
Of the night’s mysteries and riddles of day

6. The greatest theater will continue
Its long tale – where is the curtain?

7. I tired of this world and its secrets
And my cunning in the sands' silence

8. I recite in the splendor of its lights
Seeking guidance, but gain only loss

9. I closed my eyes fearfully before it
Seeking mercy in the darkness

10. Its voice called out to me, rousing me
As if from sleep, saying:

11. You are a man suffering under sorrow
Of you the days left only stubbornness

12. And all that you see of radiance
Mocks the embers behind the ashes

13. And all that you see of strength
Roaring like the wind when it gusts

14. It mocks the despondent one who faded
Yearning at the world with sunset eyes

15. Look upon all meanings of beauty
Scattered on earth or in the sky

16. Do you not see in all this glory
Only a warning of fading away?

17. How many beauties in their prime of youth
Were adorned by their creator

18. They shine while eyes vie for them
And words of admiration fill their ears

19. Perhaps one walked by their side
Caring not for reproach

20. Walking, filled with wonder in her nearness
As he turned to her with a lover's embrace

21. And look at the car like death itself
Snatching away, heedless of crowds

22. This flowing chaos, man's invention
After making death, what else is sought?

23. And look at this strong, able bodied one
With resolute will and tireless struggle

24. Night has come, his skin wrinkled
A man toiling since the dawn

25. I answered, oh my world whom do you fool?
I am a man tired of this deceit

26. You tore the happy years from my life
Because I tore off your mask

27. That sorcerous beauty, how pitiful
When branches change and time toys

28. With the sweet harvest and years' sins
Conceal the hue of dye

29. And this reckless car
And its lord racing like lightning

30. Is but a vanishing flame
Its fate like a sunbeam

31. And pity for the patient, strong one
Spending nights in futile toil

32. How can I not weep for the worker's drudgery
His utmost gain a loaf of bread?

33. How I cry out when I see this struggle
And the brand of humiliation on brows

34. Oh what sorrow, what do people meet
Is all this the price of life?

35. And for provisions and food
We fill the earth with problems

36. How the stars mock us from above
And how God sees us as children

37. Oh Lord, Your forgiveness, we are small
Wandering the world, duped by vanity

38. We drag behind us children's tails
While old age and graves discipline us