O soul, with storms beset - Solomon ibn Gabirol

O soul, with storms beset! 

Thy griefs and cares forget. 

Why dread earth's transient woe, 

When soon thy body in the grave unseen 

Shall be laid low, 

And all will be forgotten then, as though 

It had not been ? 

Wherefore, my soul, be still!

Adore God's holy will,

Fear death's supreme decree.

Thus mayest thou save thyself, and win high aid

To profit thee,

When thou, returning to thy Lord, shalt see

Thy deeds repaid.

Why muse, O troubled soul, 

O'er life's poor earthly goal?

When thou hast fled, the clay 

Lies mute, nor bear'st thou aught of wealth, or might 

With thee that day, 

But, like a bird, unto thy nest away, 

Thou wilt take flight. 

Why for a land lament 

In which a lifetime spent 

Is as a hurried breath? 

Where splendor turns to gloom, and honors show 

A faded wreath, 

Where health and healing soon must sink beneath 

The fatal bow? 

What seemeth good and fair 

Is often falsehood there. 

Gold melts like shifting sands, 

Thy hoarded riches pass to other men 

And strangers' hands, 

And what will all thy treasured wealth and lands 

Avail thee then? 

Life is a vine, whose crown 

The reaper Death cuts down. 

His ever-watchful eyes 

Mark every step until night's shadows fall, 

And swiftly flies 

The passing day, and ah! how distant lies 

The goal of all. 

Therefore, rebellious soul, 

Thy base desires control; 

With scantly given bread 

Content thyself, nor let thy memory stray 

To splendors fled, 

But call to mind affliction's weight, and dread 

The judgment-day. 

Prostrate and humbled go, 

Like to the dove laid low, 

Remember evermore 

The peace of heaven, the Lord's eternal rest. 

When burdened sore 

With sorrow's load, at every step implore 

His succor blest. 

Before God's mercy-seat 

His pardoning love entreat. 

Make pure thy thoughts from sin, 

And bring a contrite heart as sacrifice 

His grace to win 

Then will his angels come and lead thee in 

To Paradise. 

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Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021 - 1058) Spain

Translator not stated (there is a list of all the translators on the title page)

Source: The sacred books and early literature of the East; with an historical survey and descriptions

Volume IV: Medieval Hebrew, by Charles Francis Horne, Parke, 1917