أَأَحبَابَنَا مَن غَابَ عَمَّن يَودُّهُ

فَسِيّانِ عِندي بُعدُهُ واِقترابُهُ

Our loved ones, however far, are always dear

Absence and presence both the same appear

إِذا المَيْتُ وَارَى شَخْصَهَ عَفَرُ الثّرَى

فَهل يُدنِيَنْهُ أن يَقِلَّ تُرابُهُ

When dead men mingle with the dust, think naught

That nearness shall avail the buried or the distant brought

وكلُّ غريبِ الدّارِ فالأَرضُ دونَهُ

وإِن كان حيّاً فالحِمامُ اغتِرابُهُ

Each stranger in a distant land, with earth must be content

And far and strange the swallow's flight, however near his tent