How is my aunt supposed to cope with a loss of this magnitude? I cannot fill the void left by my uncle but this special poem by Kahlil Gibran may bring my aunt some comfort by making sense of loss.
Most people know Gibran by his book The Prophet. The following poem, "On Joy and Sorrow" is a part of this famous book. I have found this writing to be of great comfort to me when I have suffered from profound loss, and what loss can be more profound than the loss of a husband? My aunt does not use a computer; I sent her a copy of this poem via snail mail.
On Joy and Sorrow by Kahlil Gibran
THEN a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.
And he answered:
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter
rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your
being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very
cup that was burned in the potter's oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit,
the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart
and you shall find it is only that which has given
you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart,
and you shall see that in truth you are weeping
for that which has been your delight.
Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow,"
and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater."
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits alone with
you at your board, remember that the other is
asleep upon your bed.
Verily you are suspended like scales
between your sorrow and your joy.
Only when you are empty are you at
standstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh
his gold and his silver, needs must your joy
or your sorrow rise or fall.
No comments:
Post a Comment