برَّحَ بي الشوقُ فلما طغى

فزعْتُ للرْسمِ فكبَّرُتهُ

Longing overwhelmed me, so when it overflowed

I turned to the portrait, magnifying it

وما شفى داءً ولكنَّما

قلبي شكا البعدَ فعلَّلُتُهُ

It cured no illness, but rather

My heart complained of distance, so I justified it

ولم أجدْ في الرَّسمِ أخلاَقها

جرَّبتُها حيناً وجرّبتُه

And in the portrait I found none of her traits

I tried it for a while and tried it again

منتظري في غرفتي دهرَهُ

جودُ بخيلٍ ما تعوَّدْتُه

Waiting for her in my room for ages

The generosity of a miser that I'm not used to

ظلَّ وقد ناجيتُهُ باسماً

ولم يمانعْ حين قبَّلتُه

It remained while I whispered to it by name

And didn't object when I kissed it

عَرَفْتُ للرَّسام إبْداَعهُ

وعدتُ للرَّسمِ فانكرتُه

I recognized the painter's skill

And returned to the portrait, rejecting it

قد فاته دَلٌّ تعرَّفْتُهُ

فيها ومَطْلٌ كم تذوَّقتُه

It lacked a glance I knew

In her, and a smile whose taste I savored

لَوْ جاءَني الرسَّامُ بالمشتهى

كفرتُ باللهِ وأشركتُهُ

If the painter brought me the desired one

I would reject God and associate him