On Joy and Sorrow
Then a woman said, Speak to us ofJoy and Sorrow.
And he answered:
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which yourlaughter rises was oftentimes filledwith your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into yourbeing, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine thevery cup that was burned in the potter’soven?
And is not the lute that soothes yourspirit, the very wood that was hollowedwith knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into yourheart and you shall find it is onlythat which has given you sorrow that isgiving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again inyour heart, and you shall see thatin truth you are weeping for that whichhas been your delight.
Some of you say, “Joy is greater thansorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow isthe greater.”
But I say unto you, they areinseparable.
Together they come, and when one sitsalone with you at your board, rememberthat the other is asleep upon your bed.
Verily you are suspended like scalesbetween your sorrow and your joy.
Only when you are empty are you atstandstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you toweigh his gold and his silver, needsmust your joy or your sorrow rise orfall.
Words in this poem
- selfsame a.
- Precisely the same; the very same; identical. [Self, a. + same.]
- oftentimes adv.
- Frequently; often; many times. [Often + time. Cf. -wards.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- standstill n.
- A standing without moving forward or backward; a stop; a state or rest.
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On Joy and Sorrow is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Prophet, Project Gutenberg ebook #58585; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Kahlil Gibran, On Joy and Sorrow, in The Prophet (1923), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #58585, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/gibran-prophet/on-joy-and-sorrow.html, id L27261.
About this section
On Joy and Sorrow is prose, printed in 16 paragraphs. It is part of the edition and is kept for reading, but nothing here is measured: the line breaks are the printer's, so no metre, rhyme scheme or scansion is stated.
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