Talk of the Heart: A Tear for Jihan

On your tomb the flower-blossoms have withered,
and in my heart a tear has turned to stone for you,
O beloved young woman,
lofty of spirit, lover of truth.
How faithless the dust of the earth, even as she smiled upon it,
and how unjust is fate, snatching you away from us —
its hand does not tremble at the horror of what it has done!

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Your sweet countenance — we long for it
as the crops long for the sprinklings of rain.
I never saw you but rising, mustering strength against weakness —
burning yourself for others' sake,
denying frailty — conquering it with a hopeful smile,
mocking the doctor's word:
"Your life is brief as a summer!"

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Have you gone now from our house?
And the flower-blossoms have withered on your tomb,
and in my heart a tear has turned to stone for you,
O beloved young woman!