Sahyadri Books Online Trivandrum.: 166. A Lover’s Call. Kahlil Gibran Poem Recast In The True Poetic Form By P S Remesh Chandran

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

166. A Lover’s Call. Kahlil Gibran Poem Recast In The True Poetic Form By P S Remesh Chandran

166

A Lover’s Call. Kahlil Gibran Poem Recast In The True Poetic Form

P. S. Remesh Chandran

Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum

Article Title Image 1 By David Marcu. Graphics: Adobe SP.

Kahlil Gibran is mistakenly considered to have written his poems in free verse but actually he was hiding his exquisite tunes behind a mask, so that the dull wits and half wits of his times won't attempt to sing them. Songs from his immortal work Tears And Laughter are fine examples of a poet locking his lines, five poems from which were unlocked by P. S. Remesh Chandran. His poem A Lover’s Call from Tears And Laughter is presented here, slightly edited and recast in the true poetic form.

A Lover’s Call was recast along with the other poems but was not published with them at that time. The manuscript was misplaced and thought to have been lost but it resurfaced.

05. A Lover's Call by Kahlil Gibran

[Slightly edited and recast in the true
poetic form by P. S. Remesh Chandran,
Editor, Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books,
Trivandrum]

'Where are you, my beloved? Are you
In that little Paradise,
Watering flowers who look upon you as infants
Look upon the breast of their mothers?

'Or are you in your chamber where the
Shrine of Virtue has been placed
In your honor, and upon which you offer my
Heart and soul as sacrifice?

'Or amongst books, seeking human
Knowledge, while you are replete
With heavenly wisdom?

'Oh companion of my soul, where are you?
Are you praying in the temple?
Or calling Nature in the field,
Haven of your dreams?

'Are you in the huts of the poor,
Consoling the broken-hearted with
The sweetness of your soul, and
Filling their hands with your bounty?

'You are God's spirit everywhere;
You are stronger than the ages.

'Do you have memory of the day we
Met, when the halo of you(!), spirit
Surrounded us, and the Angels of Love
Floated about, singing the praise of the soul's deed?

'Do you recollect our sitting in the
Shade of the Branches, sheltering ourselves from
Humanity, as the ribs protect from injury the
Divine secret of the heart?

'Remember you the trails and forest we
Walked, with hands joined, and our heads leaning
Against each other, as if we were
Hiding ourselves within ourselves?

'Recall you the hour I bade you farewell, and the
Maritime kiss you placed on my lips?
That kiss taught me that joining of lips in Love reveals
Heavenly secrets which the tongue cannot utter!

'That kiss was introduction to a great sigh,
Like the Almighty's breath that turned earth into man.

That sigh led my way into the spiritual world,
Announcing the glory of my soul; and there
It shall perpetuate until again we meet.

I remember when you kissed me and kissed me,
With tears coursing your cheeks, and you said,
"Earthly bodies must often separate for earthly purpose,
And must live apart impelled by worldly intent.

"But the spirit remains joined safely in the hands of
Love, until death arrives and takes joined souls to God.

`"Go, my beloved; Love has chosen
You her delegate; Over her,
For she is Beauty who offers to her
Follower the cup of the sweetness of life.

'As for my own empty arms, your love shall
Remain my Comforting
Groom; you memory, my Eternal wedding."

`Where are you now, my other self? Are
You awake in the silence of the night?
Let the clean breeze convey to you my
Heart’s every beat and affection.

`Are you fondling my face in your memory?
That image is no longer my own, for
Sorrow has dropped his shadow on my
Happy countenance of the past.

`Sobs have withered my eyes which reflected
Your beauty and dried my lips
Which you sweetened with kisses.

`Where are you, my beloved? Do you
Hear my weeping from beyond
The ocean? Do you understand my need?
Do you know the greatness of my patience?

Is there any spirit in the air capable of conveying
To you the breath of this dying youth? Is there any
Secret communication between angels that will carry to
You my complaint?

`Where are you, my beautiful star?
The obscurity of life has cast
Me upon its bosom; sorrow has conquered me.

Sail your smile into the air; it will reach and enliven me!
Breathe your fragrance into the air; it will sustain me!

`Where are you, me beloved? Oh, how
Great is Love! And how little am I!

Article Title Image 2 By David Marcu. Graphics: Adobe SP.

Recast during 1997

NOTE:

Compare this recast version with the supposedly blank prose version of his, and also take into consideration the fact that the earliest of his series of journalist articles to be published as a book were about the importance of music in poetry, especially defining it as the ‘very soul of poetry’, you will arrive at the logical conclusion that deliberate attempts were made by the poet himself to hide his exquisite tunes behind a blank verse to prevent the dull wits of his time, and those who loathed them who were in plenty, from fully enjoying and singing them. He just rearranged the lines as prose to prevent full enjoyment. The author of this article just rearranged it again back to poetic metrical form to facilitate singing. Who will believe Gibran himself could not have done that? Tagore also did the same treachery with form, to disguise his tunes- he who tuned more than 600 Bengali songs!

Still, he left two stanzas in this poem untouched and unpolluted with his blank verse blanketing, leaving the clue to how it should be sung: benedictory of him! He knew those truly eager and persevering to sing them would recognize those two stanzas as a mark left by the poet and follow that clue and apply it to the whole poem and succeed in singing it by rearranging the lines. What startles us is, there are organizations in Lebanon and America in his honour and they did nothing.

All the recast poems of his are included in this collection:

Kahlil Gibran's TEARS AND LAUGHTER: Recast In The True Poetic Form
Kindle eBook LIVE Published on June 8, 2013
ASIN: B00D9NXOKI
Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D9NXOKI

More English articles by the author at:
http://sahyadribooks-remesh.blogspot.com/

Malayalam articles by the author at:
http://sahyadrimalayalam.blogspot.in/

More political article by the author here:
http://sahyadribooks-remesh.blogspot.com/p/list-of-political-articles.html

About the Author P. S. Remesh Chandran:

Editor of Sahyadri Books & Bloom Books, Trivandrum. Author of several books in English and in Malayalam. And also author of Swan: The Intelligent Picture Book. Born and brought up in the beautiful village of Nanniyode in the Sahya Mountain Valley in Trivandrum, in Kerala. Father British Council trained English teacher and Mother University educated. Matriculation with distinction and Pre Degree Studies in Science with National Merit Scholarship. Discontinued Diploma studies in Electronics and entered politics. Unmarried and single.