What do I know of shawq?!

How many nights have I stayed awake,

ceaselessly crying?!

How many days have I labored,

endlessly yearning?!

Simply for a glimpse of Your Face.

Instead I remain distracted,

in a world of forms,

obsessed with small gifts,

that You give or withhold with perfect wisdom.

Would that I looked a little further,

to the horizon of nearness,

and lost all concern for whatever lies between.

The petty joys – children, lovers, homes, achievements – that we delight in,

make me so sad

when I see their place in my heart,

for they mean I am a liar.

Yet You remain patiently waiting

for us

to begin to notice You.

One day

You will show us

how beautiful You always were

and our hearts will break

over and over again

remembering every moment we spent

longing for anything

or anyone

other than You.