In the moonlight I cry out, in the sunlight I bitterly exclaim,
I curse myself, turning my eyes upon my wretchedness;
Lamentable it is to be caught once more in the net of red flame;
Only in the darkness without stars I at last lie still.

I have despised the universe that could so scheme to capture
The ridiculous sparrow in its futile red net of desire.
Now I despise no more. The city shines suddenly with rapture
The sky burns bright, the trees bend their heads in a dream.

Voices of delight rise out of the stones beneath my feet,
Azure the dusk is, the waters are singing. Wondering I stand
While the universe deepens about me. Sword-sharp-sweet,
Your voice, that I remember faintly, pierces my heart.

O light of the clear blue sky, for the first time known:
I am the solitary leaf that burns and falls
Shrivelled under your immensity, ecstatically blown
Down to the dust and darkness. Forget not me.