Two Years
Two Years since my Dad has left
Rifaat Youssef Agha (1920-2014)
By Tarif Yoyssef Agha, Thursday January 28, 2016
Oh people, don’t blame us if our eyes have flooded,
As, since the day my dad has left, the sorrow keeps making us miserable
Two years since he has left,
Since death has kidnapped him from our hands
His image barley leaves us, day and night,
The tears leave us only to return to us
When they disappear from our eyes, they reappear in our hearts,
Since he has left, our tears became our drinks
He was so dear to all who knew him,
His great reputation is one that has helped us put up with our grief
But, that is death after all; a disease that has no cure,
It takes our beloved ones and leaves us crying for them
***
Oh Dad, wherever you are, I would like you to know that,
You have left behind a reputation that smells like jasmine
And you gave us a (family) name that always made us proud,
Your noble acts made us in love with our name
You taught us morality that made us raw models to others,
And you passed to us a will that enabled us to accomplish all our wishes
You have always been a medal at the chest of our family,
Mentioning your name has always been enough to make us proud
Oh Dad, and every time we were hit by the miseries of life,
Recalling your memory used to be enough to make us strong again
But this is the way life is from the very beginning,
As we lamented you yesterday, our sons will lament us one day
***
A Poem translation
(Can be shared without permission)
By Tarif Youssef-Agha
An Expatriate Arab Syrian Writer & Poet
Thursday January 28, 2016, Houston, Texas
http://sites.google.com/site/tarifspoetry