1. Do not blame yourself for your haste,
We are creatures made of haste.

2. What I miss by my haste
Is more hurtful to me than the blame for my haste.

3. I fear becoming undesirable to women when
I become old, for old age brings foolishness.

4. Because of their rejection of me in my old age,
I am right to fear and worry.

5. How lively they are with me one day,
And how listless after that.

6. Life has two tastes for the taster:
Bitter succession, sweet first.

7. Sometimes it is honey, sometimes aloes -
My craving is to delay the aftermath of honey.

8. If it were delayed, life would be good,
Even if it exceeded the cure of life.

9. Our powerlessness belied our youth,
And the promises of hope were not fulfilled truthfully.

10. How you think life is our place of rest,
While life is but the dwelling place of one who moves on.

11. So enjoy the comforts and pleasures of life,
And beware of the imminent departure.

12. If difficulties prevent you from overpowering,
Then devise gentle stratagems.