1. By a firebrand that seems as though
dew is boiling in it for the night visitor's cooking pot,

2. There emerged from its smoke a violet vapor
and from its live coals red embers.

3. It laughed sparks from radiant faces,
and I could not tell which of the two was more ablaze.

4. When the pale fingers of daybreak reach for the foe,
dawn finds their sword-blades bared.

5. So they remained, while in each one’s shining sword
there was a heart and on each keen edge a bold soul.

6. I see good fire surrounded by good lads
who offered it their cheeks and encircled it with a necklace.

7. When the wind blew from the blackness of its smoke,
perfume, and from its red-hot blaze, a tattoo on the cheek,

8. It stirred up a darkness brimming with motes
and sent forth steeds bridled by the zephyr bearing perfume.

9. I saw the eyelids of the wind as night held back,
rolling red embers in the live coals from which sparks leapt.

10. By the embers that touched one of its sides, lightning flashed
that moaned, while the guardian of the embers sought refuge from its heat in coolness.