شهدت ولم أشهد لحاظاً لحظته

شهدت ولم أشهد لحاظاً لحظته

وحسب لحاظٍ شاهد غير مشهد

وحسب لحاظٍ شاهد غير مشهد

I witnessed, yet did not witness, a glance I beheld.

I witnessed, though I did not witness the moment's glance,

And a witness, not something witnessed, suffices for a glance.

And the witnessing of a glance is enough, not what is witnessed.

وغبت مغيباً غاب للغيب غيبه

وغبت مغيباً غاب للغيب غيبه

فلاح ظهور غيبه غير مفقد

فلاح ظهور غيبه غير مفقد

And I was absent in an absence whose absence vanished into the unseen.

I was absent with an absence that had vanished into absence,

Then the manifestation of its absence shone forth, without loss.

Then the appearance of its hiddenness shone, not lost.