وَقائِلَةٍ لي حينَ شَبَّهتُ وَجهَها

بِبَدرِ الدُجى يَوماً وَقَد ضاقَ مَنهَجي

And when she said to me, when I compared her face

To the full moon one day, though my path was narrow

تُشَبِّهي بِالبَدرِ هَذا تَناقُصٌ

بِقَدري وَلَكِن لَستُ أَوَّلَ مَن هُجي

"You compare me to the full moon, this is a decline

Measured by my worth, though I'm not the first you've wooed

أَلَمَ تَرَ أَنَّ البَدرَ عِندَ كَمالِهِ

إِذا بَلَغَ التَشبيه عادَ كَدُملُجي

Don't you see that the full moon, at its perfection

When the comparison's reached, goes back to a crescent

فَلا فَخرَ إِن شَبَّهتَ بِالبَدرِ مَبسَمي

وَبِالسِحرِ أَجفاني وَبِاللَيلِ مَدعَجي

So no pride if you've compared my smile to the full moon

And my eyelids to magic, and my hair to the night's darkness