Open the gate, my love,
Arise and open the gate,
For my soul is dismayed
And sorely afraid
And Hagar's brood mocks my estate.

The heart of the hand-maid's sons
Is hateful and haughty grown,
And all because of the cry
Of Ishmael piercing the sky,
Ascending and reaching the Throne.

I stumble 'twixt beast and beast,
The wild ass swift to slay
Has followed my flight
From the courts of Night
Where crushed of the boar I lay.

Alas! for my thick-sealed fate,
Ah woe for the days to come!
It helps but to pain me
That none can explain me,
And I, myself, I am dumb.
Translated by Israel Zangwill