1. I looked into the faces of my poetry, faces
That were made ugly before their creation

2. So they went to it in distress
And what it denied of them was granted

3. I saw in its polish images from it
Of ugliness, so it showed clear reproach

4. God witnessed that at that time
It helped the blameless and stripped the corrupt

5. It looked upon its ugliness so it covered it
With oppressive shadows, clear oppression

6. And bright-faced people saw it
And saw its face radiant and clear

7. Thus does the polished view lead
To matching it with an eloquent rhetorician

8. Mirrors show the beautiful as beautiful
And so they show the ugly as ugly

9. With which to treat the heart's wound
An example for weak minds

10. And poetry is purified, no longer vile