Oh elusive presence,
where are you
If you are not with me then where are you
My eyes are
illuminated by you
My heart is also
acquainted by you
Come and invite my
eyes and heart
Otherwise draw a
sword and take my life
From all the beauty
and gifts of the universe
I see naught but
half a life
Why not lose what
remains with you
As without you
I do not need a hundred lives
You took my heart or
else with you
present I’d be
limitless
In your absences
nothing but
dissipation is my
lot
I would not for a
moment hesitate to
love you
As I’d never take my
heart away from
the soul
I set the pain of
your love in my soul
I cast out this mind
engulfed with
you toward the
wilderness
As without your
presence I have
neither heart nor
religion remain
Why have you left me
wandering
like this?
Without your face I
am mute like the
face of a dinar
Your love has led me
to solitude
facing the wall
I have not seen
anyone comparable
to you
I have not seen a
cypress tree like
you
If you arrive, I’ll
be free once more
And if not, I will
go wherever I am
I take a light with
every finger
And look for you in
every desert
and garden
If you appear in
front of me, like
the brilliant light
of a candle
Otherwise consider
me an
extinguished light.
[Written by Rabia Balkhi,