1. I wish that I could live the life of a poet
To see existence expand beyond my dreams

2. Unless I sever ties with worldly affairs
And live for my solitude and darkness

3. In the forest, on a faraway mountain
Where nature and sublime beauty reign

4. And live the life of a devout ascetic
Unstained by the tribulations of life

5. He abandoned society for the mountains in piety
Fleeing from it and the grip of oppressive life

6. Life walks around him as though it were
A beautiful, gentle dream

7. And waves of time crash around him
With sacred, awe-inspiring rhythm

8. So I live in my forest a life full of
Art, dreams and inspiration

9. But I cannot, for I have
A mother whose affection bars my fantasies

10. And young brothers who see their safety
Suspended on my own wellbeing

11. They lost their caring father, so I became
A shelter against the winds of time

12. Shielding them from life's ardor and gusts
And guarding them against suffering's sting

13. So I am shackled in chains of life
Sacrificing my dreams out of compassion

14. And I am the one who unwillingly inhabits the city
And walks uninspired into the unknown

15. Listening despite myself to this foolish world
And living like others in delusions

16. I am the one who lives in a desolate wasteland
Rife with doubts and pain

17. The world unleashed its horrors on me
In its deep, boundless tumult

18. Without warning, so I grasped my weapons
And plunged in like a daring swimmer

19. My soul shattered on its reefs
And my pain raged within me

20. Woe to this world whose ways
Make the quill like a feather duster