1. If only time would stand still at the three:
Where my carefree youth came to its end,

2. With no trace of gray in my locks,
Except what my mind makes me feel.

3. Or a slender, pliant, willowy branch,
Fresh at dawn, shady at night.

4. Or a friend, if I wanted to speak,
To whom my words would give no offense.

5. One groans in sorrow, another sings merrily,
Reciting poetry, while a third fidgets in silence.