1. A missive came to me from my master
So I said: It glitters, and I said: It shines

2. And I began tracing his name in rapture
As if my lips were savoring wine

3. What marvelous, subtle verses it bore
Filled with the finest rhetoric and lore!

4. I placed it deep in my innermost heart
And would not glorify it in gold anymore

5. O excellent, noble sir of flawless repute
Of gracious deed, of purest attribute!

6. You climbed the heights of glory in great haste
As though cascading from a mountaintop

7. And every far-flung generosity
You seize as though from a nearby hilltop

8. I come to you contrite, confessing my dearth
While nothing compares to your priceless worth

9. For beside you I am filled with shame
Falling short of what duty does claim