This famous poem was translated from the original Arabic today, in preparation for the Lebanese Evening in the Mint Café on North Lane.
A Tear And A Smile
I would not exchange my heart’s sorrows
for the joys of the multitude
And I would not have the tears that sadness makes
to flow from my whole being turn into laughter
I would wish my life remain a tear and a smile
A tear to purify my heart and teach me
about life’s secrets and mysteries
A smile to draw me towards fellow spirits and
to be a sign of the greatness of God
A tear to share with the broken-hearted
A smile to be a sign of my joy in just being
I want to die with my soul intact
and not to live tired and despairing
I want to have a hunger for love and beauty
in the depths of my soul, because I have seen those
who are content with material things
and they are the most wretched
I have heard the sighs of those who yearn
and it is sweeter than the sweetest melody
When evening comes, the flower folds her petals
and sleeps, embracing her longing
When morning approaches, she opens her lips
to meet the sun’s kiss
The life of the flowers is longing and excitement
A tear and a smile.
The waters of the sea become vapour and rise
and gather to become cloud
And the cloud sails above hills and valleys
until it meets the gentle breeze, then falls weeping
to the fields, to join with springs and streams
to return to its home, the sea
The cloud’s life is a parting and a meeting
A tear and a smile.
And so one soul splits from the Great Soul
to move in the material world
to pass like a cloud above sorrow’s mountains
and the valleys of happiness to meet death’s breeze
and to return to where it came from
To the sea of love and beauty – to God.
Khalil Gibran
Translated by Mahmoud (‘Marcos’) Dakke
and Richard Wilcocks
March 2012
