1. My friend called me from the darkness of dispute
So here I am, despite the great perils

2. Let us embark on a quest that will make for us
A reputation among the scholars, like a parable

3. I thirst for knowledge, if anyone but me
Yearns for it, then the virgin of the valley does too

4. My friend, let us answer what seemed good to you both
About a questioner who lost his clear path

5. I wasted my youth, so now I intend
To gain what eluded me in early times

6. I studied grammar for years to master it
Yet I gained neither honey nor butter

7. And now my aim is a path from which I might benefit
To learn grammar in a year, the limit of my hope