Kahlil Gibran

7 Must-Read Kahlil Gibran Poems

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On Joy and Sorrow

‘On Joy and Sorrow’ by Kahlil Gibran is a meditative, insightful, poetic essay that makes interesting implications about the inseparable emotions of joy and sorrow.

'On Joy and Sorrow' by Kahlil Gibran is one of the author's best-loved poems. Since it addresses the universal experience of feeling intense emotions such as joy and sorrow, this poetic essay has found a wide audience. Additionally, its plain-English, conversational tone makes it exceedingly accessible and easy to understand.

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?

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A Tear and A Smile

‘A Tear and A Smile’ by Kahlil Gibran explores life’s duality, longing for love, and the journey to divine union, invoking profound introspection.

‘A Tear and A Smile’ is indeed a good representation of Kahlil Gibran's poetry. Gibran's poems often delve into the complexities of the human experience, exploring themes such as love, sorrow, joy, and the search for meaning. This particular poem embodies many of Gibran's characteristic themes and stylistic elements, including the use of vivid imagery, profound insights, and philosophical reflections. The juxtaposition of tears and smiles as symbolic representations of human emotions is a recurring motif in Gibran's work, highlighting the duality inherent in life.

I would not exchange the sorrows of my heart

For the joys of the multitude.

And I would not have the tears that sadness makes

To flow from my every part turn into laughter.

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The Perfect World

‘The Perfect World’ describes what a speaker sees as an ideal way to live in order to take advantage of all that God has created.

Kahlil Gibran’s poetry is known for asking honest questions about life, identity, and the soul. In ‘The Perfect World’, he focuses on how it feels to be different in a world that seems too neat and controlled. The poem isn’t his most famous work, but it carries the same thoughtful and emotional tone found in his other pieces. While not widely studied, it speaks to anyone who has ever felt out of place.

God of lost souls, thou who are lost amongst the gods, hear me:

Gentle Destiny that watchest over us, mad, wandering spirits, hear me:

#4

And When My Sorrow was Born

Gibran’s ‘And When My Sorrow was Born’ explores the transient joy and lasting sorrow, underscoring the cyclical nature of emotions.

When my Sorrow was born I nursed it with care, and watched over it

with loving tenderness.

 

And my Sorrow grew like all living things, strong and beautiful

and full of wondrous delights.

#5

On Children

‘On Children’ is the third prose-poem of Kahlil Gibran’s best-loved work, “The Prophet”. Through this poem, the prophet Al Mustafa explores how parents should think about their children.

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, Speak to us of Children.

     And he said:

     Your children are not your children.

     They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.

#6

On Love

‘On Love’ appears in the second part of Kahlil Gibran’s best-known work “The Prophet”. It is a thoughtful meditation on spiritual love by the prophet Al Mustafa.

Then said Almitra, Speak to us of Love.

     And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said:

     When love beckons to you, follow him,

#7

Song of the Flower

‘Song of the Flower’ by Khalil Gibran describes what the life of a flower involves, from sunrises and weddings to perpetual optimism. 

I am a kind word uttered and repeated

By the voice of Nature;

I am a star fallen from the

Blue tent upon the green carpet.

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