I.
The world saw no profit from my becoming;
Nor its splendor and nobility augmented by my leaving.
There is no one from whom both mine ears have heard
What purpose did serve my coming and going.
El mundo no sacó ganancia de mi venida;
Ni aumentó su esplendor y nobleza mi salida.
De nadie han oído mis dos oídos:
¿Qué propósito sirvieron mi llegada e ida?
II.
What is the profit of our coming and going?
Where is the weft of the weave of our existence?
In the heavenly sphere's abyss, souls of many innocent
Burn and are reduced to ashes. But where is the smoke?
What is the profit of our transient existence?
Where is the weft of the weave of our subsistence?
In the heavenly sphere's abyss, souls of many innocent burn
To ashes. But where is the smoke to prove this instance?
III.
Some contemplate the way of piety;
Others assume doubt with certainty.
Suddenly a herald cries from his lair:
"O ignorant souls! neither path is reality."
IV.
Without wine, man's true essence, I cannot sustain;
Without wine, the burden of man's body I cannot maintain.
I am captive to that moment when the wine server quoth,
"Drink one more glass," and I cannot, and refrain.
Without pure wine I cannot exist;
Without the elixir of grape I cannot persist.
I am captive to the moment when the cup-bearer says,
"Have another cup," and I am content to resist.
V.
'Tis a goblet that earns the Mind's praise;
One hundred kisses upon its forehead man pays.
This potter of Fate makes his delicate pot so,
And alas! from his hand to the ground it strays.
VI.
The answer to perpetuity neither you know nor I;
The solution to life's enigma neither you know nor I.
Beneath the curtain stand bantering you and I;
But when the curtain falls, neither you remain nor I.
VII.
It is said that the drunk and the lustful are bound for Hell;
Such thought is absurd! Place not faith in what others tell.
For if the lustful and drunk are so readily damned,
Tomorrow, hordes of people a barren Heaven will repel.
It is said that the drunk and lustful for Hell are bound;
Such thought absurd! This assumption is wholly unfound!
For if the lustful and drunk were so readily damned,
Then tomorrow, Heaven would be a bleak and barren ground.
VIII.
From the tales of the travelers of this long track,
Where is the seasoned traveler whose wisdom we lack?
"Hark! When you come across this fork in the path,
"Leave nothing out of parsimony: you will ne'er turn back."
IX.
Those who embodied the ideals of knowledge and grace,
In the gathering of peers were candles that lit the place,
Did not find their way from this dark night till the day:
They told their mortal tales and vanished without a trace.
