Hard times,
Sea that hides its secrets,
Harbinger of the visionary.
Cast your pretensions aside
And take your measures.

You, who believed
That in wounding others, you would be saved,
And that misfortune would only come to others,
This time, evil has spared you.
Above all, don’t fool yourself where you shouldn’t.

Reason before unleashing your words:
All questions engender a response.
Never does a claimed right die
When there are men behind it,
Even if it appears farther than sun and moon.

You who evoke only in mocking
The weaknesses of others,
The day will come when yours will be displayed.
You who make evil the reason of life,
Don’t forget that you bathe in absolute shame.

You,
Sedentary without a home,
That riches that surround you will one day go up in smoke.
Very slowly the coming days will diminish your life,
Like wine dismantles reason.

It’s time to leave,
The caravan’s moving, and the horsemen as well,
And you are doing nothing for this voyage,
Too sure, you don’t really know what awaits you,
The days to come will scarcely give you reason.

Translation by Sylvia Mae Gorelick and Miles Joris-Peyrafitte