May the day I was born perish,
and the night when they said,
“A boy is conceived.”

If only darkness had taken that night away!
May it not appear among the days of the year
or be listed in the calendar.

Yes, may that night be barren;
may no joyful shout be heard in it.

For that night did not shut
the doors of my mother’s womb,
and hide sorrow from my eyes.

Among unsettling thoughts from visions in the night,
when deep sleep descends on men,

They encounter darkness by day,
and they grope at noon
as if it were night.