A Tear and a Smile

A tear to unite me with those of broken heart; A smile to be a sign of my joy in existence.. A book of poetry by Khalil Gibran that touches every soul. Kahlil Gibran was a Lebanese-American writer poet and visual artist also considered a philosopher although he himself rejected the title.Gibran discussed such themes as religion justice free will science love happiness the soul the body and death in his writings which were characterized by innovation breaking with forms of the past by symbolism an undying love for his native land and a sentimental melancholic yet often oratorical style. About his language in general (both in Arabic and English) Salma Khadra Jayyusi remarks that because of the spiritual and universal aspect of his general themes he seems to have chosen a vocabulary less idiomatic than would normally have been chosen by a modern poet conscious of modernism in language. According to Jean Gibran and Kahlil G. Gibran Ignoring much of the traditional vocabulary and form of classical Arabic he began to develop a style which reflected the ordinary language he had heard as a child in Besharri and to which he was still exposed in the South End [of Boston]. This use of the colloquial was more a product of his isolation than of a specific intent but it appealed to thousands of Arab immigrants.