1. The nights are not to blame for the follies of youth,
Though now they adorn with dignified composure.

2. My white locks seem as if shed by my cheeks,
While in fact, they are the white flowers of my temples.

3. When one campsite departs from my land,
Another is pitched for me in my home.

4. Have I not seen in the nights of my life,
The evilest of lights for the evilest of fires?

5. It reveals the hidden faults in me,
And exposes my innermost secrets.

6. Today it makes me more hostile to youth,
Than a wolf is to sheep.

7. My nights were once filled with joy,
Before my hair lost its darkness.

8. But since my hair turned white,
Vain talk has become rare for me.

9. My thoughts used to frolic at night,
And disappear at dawn.