Here lavishly these jewels among all men I share;
In the high fire of living I crystallized their truth,
And in their depths I mirrored the miracle of youth,
And Art has stroked them gently to make them shine forever.

Like a devout apprentice I bent and toiled and tried
Till from my soul I plucked them when daybreak is agleam,
And pure were they, yeah, purer than Beauty’s eyes of dream;
Enduring, too, I made them, forever to abide.

Now let Age set its signet upon the man that is
And will be for some time yet — and then let Death set his:
These gems of the first waters, profound and motionless,

Defying human meanness and human envious rage
And standing out in ever more brilliant sacredness,
Shall ne’er be lost to ages, nor bear the stain of age.

Translated by Dan Duțescu