أَغيبُ عَنكِ بِوُدٍّ لا يُغَيِّرُهُ

نَأيُ المَحَلِّ وَلا صَرفٌ مِنَ الزَمَنِ

I am absent from you with a love that time and distance do not change

If I live, perhaps fate will reunite us one day

فَإِن أَعِش فَلَعَلَّ الدَهرَ يَجمَعُنا

وإِن أَمُت فَقَتيلُ الهَمِّ وَالحَزَنِ

And if I die, I will be a martyr to sorrow and grief

God has made everything you do seem beautiful in my eyes

قَد زَيَّنَ اللَهُ في عَينَيَّ ما صَنَعت

حَتّى أَرى حَسَناً ما لَيسَ بِالحَسَنِ

So that I see beauty in what is not beautiful

You are kept from corresponding with me by your preoccupations

تَعتَلُّ بِالشُغلِ عَنّا ما تُكاتِبُنا

والشُغلُ لِلقَلبِ لَيسَ الشُغلُ لِلبَدَنِ

But preoccupation is of the heart, not of the body