1. You stayed up late for the lightning,
Whose flashes illuminated the night,

2. And you recalled the approach of time
Upon you in a similar splendid state.

3. Days when your eyes delighted
In the beloved's presence, a joyful sight,

4. Days when you found, wherever you were,
For a lover, a radiant palm.

5. Between the taverns of youth
And the meadows, the sheepfolds,

6. You wandered perplexed, after their company,
In the wretchedness of an inferior lot—

7. From one who offers his honor
For less than it's worth, an easy connection,

8. And from a beggar who describes pleasures
While his own soul is a needy thing;

9. And among mortal sins is the abjection
Of one whose self has grown so vain.