Lord, do not give me over to love
your law is powerful but I'm dragged away,
through the bushes, by the dogs of fear.
I have no idea of the evil such dangers entail.

Lord, do not give me over to love,
to play boat with my arms until I got there
a dark vessel of hyacinths for your longing
and I wouldn't mind the mark on my forehead.

Lord, do not give me over to love:
I have hands turned into fiery mirrors,
I expect no elixir from life,
her silk no longer clothes me.

Lord, do not give me over to love
my heart is a plundered dahlia garden
and if your will shows favor
may it split open old sandals on the road

grant me all the wine of my courage,
that no more dawns should ever wake me
and your eyes should be first fear
and your silence my dying.

Translated into Englsih by D. Sam Abrams