questions

.

The loved ones of my heart where are they? Say, by
God, where are they?

As thou sawest their apparition, wilt thou show to me
their reality?

How long, how long was I seeking them! and how often
did I beg to be united with them,

Until I had no fear of being parted from them, and yet
I feared to be amongst them.

Perchance my happy star will hinder their going afar
from me,

That mine eye may be blest with them, and that I may
not ask,’ Where are they?’


—Ibn al-Arabi, from section XLV
The Tarjuman al-Ashwaq: A Collection Of Mystical Odes

.