إذا ما غاب مَن أهْواهُ عَنِّي

إذا ما غاب مَن أهْواهُ عَنِّي

فإنَّ لِقاءَه عندي كِتابُ

فإنَّ لِقاءَه عندي كِتابُ

When the one I love is absent from me,

When my beloved is absent from me

Then, for me, a letter is a meeting with him:

His promise of our reunion is my solace—

سَوادٌ في بياضٍ مِثْل عَيْنِي

سَوادٌ في بياضٍ مِثْل عَيْنِي

به ألْقَى الأحِبَّةَ حين غَابُوا

به ألْقَى الأحِبَّةَ حين غَابُوا

Black within white, like my eye;

Dark letters on bright paper, like my eyes

Through it I meet loved ones when they are away.

Where I meet my loved ones when they are gone.