"You are nearer to me than my jugular vein"

You are my face; no wonder I don't see You:
such closeness is a mystifiying veil.
You are my reason; it's no wonder I don't see You,
because of all this perplexity of thought.
You are nearer to me than my jugular vein.

~ ~ ~ ~

Anta wajhî lâ `ajab an lâ arâh
ghâyat al-qurb hijâb al-ishtibâh
Anta `aqlî lâ `ajab an lâ arak
min wufûr al-iltibâs al-mushtabak
Ji'ta aqrab Anta min habl al-warîd
kam aqul yâ, yâ nidâh lil-`abîd

-- Mathnawi: VI: 666-668
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
(Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyل Monastra)

The media:
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"You are nearer to me than my jugular vein"