You know what’s kind of beautiful?
In French, you don’t really say, “I miss you.”
You say, “Tu me manques,” which is closer to, “You are missing from me.”
I love that. “You are missing from me.” You are a part of me, you are essential to my being. You are like a limb or an organ, or blood. I cannot function, without you.
So many languages have better phrases for love and relationship than English does. (Or at least we are used to all our phrases so they have lost their power.) The one you hear a lot is تقبرني (ya'aburnee), which is supposed to express in arabic a sincere wish that you will die before your loved one, so that you will not have to experience the pain of loosing them. In thinking about that though, I feel it is not really a great symbol of love to wish the agony of separation on the other person. So to my loved ones, I hope you die surrounded by your family, old and full of years– and that I outlive you.
