Then he said: 'I am a drowning man, and longing is my slayer; O my sovereignty, return to the head.' His meaning here is that he knows he is inevitably drowning, and that his 'longing' is what slays him. His attachment to these bodies means he is imprisoned within them, and he only views departing from them with aversion, as the poet said:

The attachment to this air has instilled in the souls

The belief that death is bitter to the taste

He is saying: The attachment of these souls, their desire, and their inclination toward the love of these earthly bodies makes them perceive al-Himam (death) as bitter. Were it not for the familiarity they have formed with these bodies, they would see that death—which is merely a transition (Naqla)—is more beneficial for them, and they would perceive it as sweet, not bitter.

As for his words: 'O my sovereignty, return to the head,' this is expressed as a wish for [the Divine] to return him to the high mansions and the proximity of the shimmering lights. This is the station in the Celestial World and the 'head' of the sovereignty of the believers.