When, with bowed head, I have fallen at the feet of
death; when this destroying angel shall have made me
like a bird robbed of its plumage, then of my dust make
nothing other than a flask, for the perfume of the wine
that it contains might revive me for an instant.
When I examine closely the things of this world, what
I see is that human beings in general appropriate to themselves,
without merit on their part, the good it contains.
As for me, O God All-Powerful! I meet only
the reverse of my desires in all that falls under my eyes!
It is I who am the chief of habitual patrons of the
tavern; it is I who am plunged in rebellion against the
law, it is I who, during the long nights, soaked in pure
wine, cry out to God the griefs of my heart imbrued with
blood.
How grow the nights without which we could not
close our eyes, and before which a cruel fate comes first
to sadden us! Arise, and let us breathe an instant ere
the breath of the morning stirs, for, very long, alas!
will this Dawn breathe when we no longer breathe!
Come, see the Dawn, and, with a full cup of rose-colored
wine in hand, let us breathe for an instant. As
for honor, reputation, that fragile crystal, let us break it
against a stone. Renounce insatiable desires, and stroke
the silken tresses of the fair and list the harmonies of the
harp.