Joy and Sorrow

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.

                                                  — Kahlil Gibran




Poem for a Friend

A soft rain this morning, and I am prey
to distant trains and mourning doves.

A streetlight’s on beneath a tree’s dark cloud,
back again for one more song.

And that, my little one,
is how I will remember you.