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