1. You still sacrifice yourself, O the most precious of souls,
And avoid what makes you most happy, O the unluckiest.

2. You were turned away while the days dawned white,
Whitened by their whiteness like Indian linen.

3. The land is green here, and there blossomed,
Seeming like the moon when unveiled, or the sun when rising.

4. Would that your blessings remained green,
Envied in their greenness by Chinese silk.

5. I ransom you from an acquiring scribe
Whose obsessive thoughts are kindled by fire.

6. When he saw me, my persona disappeared,
Revealing to him its unattractive aspects.

7. What drew my attention was his whispers,
As a confidant whispers to another confidant.

8. Whether present or absent, when you leave, you come,
For we are the roses and the narcissi.

9. Never were the two gathered in a garden,
Or brought together in a sitting.

10. So I said, "If only the nights I spend
Would disappear as they diminish."

11. Then we would not be without joy or sorrow,
Nor would a sitting be devoid of us.