Classic Poetry Series
Khalil Gibran
- poems -
Publication Date:
2004
Publisher:
PoemHunter.Com - The World's Poetry Archive
A Lover's Call XXVII
Where are you, my beloved? Are you in that little
Paradise, watering the 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 the 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 the divine secret of the heart from injury?
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.
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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.
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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!
Khalil Gibran
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A Poet's Death is His Life IV
The dark wings of night enfolded the city upon which Nature had spread a pure white
garment of snow; and men deserted the streets for their houses in search of warmth,
while the north wind probed in contemplation of laying waste the gardens. There in the
suburb stood an old hut heavily laden with snow and on the verge of falling. In a dark
recess of that hovel was a poor bed in which a dying youth was lying, staring at the
dim light of his oil lamp, made to flicker by the entering winds. He a man in the spring
of life who foresaw fully that the peaceful hour of freeing himself from the clutches of
life was fast nearing. He was awaiting Death's visit gratefully, and upon his pale face
appeared the dawn of hope; and on his lops a sorrowful smile; and in his eyes
forgiveness.
He was poet perishing from hunger in the city of living rich. He was placed in the
earthly world to enliven the heart of man with his beautiful and profound sayings. He
as noble soul, sent by the Goddess of Understanding to soothe and make gentle the
human spirit. But alas! He gladly bade the cold earth farewell without receiving a smile
from its strange occupants.
He was breathing his last and had no one at his bedside save the oil lamp, his only
companion, and some parchments upon which he had inscribed his heart's feeling. As
he salvaged the remnants of his withering strength he lifted his hands heavenward; he
moved his eyes hopelessly, as if wanting to penetrate the ceiling in order to see the
stars from behind the veil clouds.
And he said, "Come, oh beautiful Death; my soul is longing for you. Come close to me
and unfasten the irons life, for I am weary of dragging them. Come, oh sweet Death,
and deliver me from my neighbors who looked upon me as a stranger because I
interpret to them the language of the angels. Hurry, oh peaceful Death, and carry me
from these multitudes who left me in the dark corner of oblivion because I do not bleed
the weak as they do. Come, oh gentle Death, and enfold me under your white wings,
for my fellowmen are not in want of me. Embrace me, oh Death, full of love and
mercy; let your lips touch my lips which never tasted a mother's kiss, not touched a
sister's cheeks, not caresses a sweetheart's fingertips. Come and take me, by beloved
Death."
Then, at the bedside of the dying poet appeared an angel who possessed a
supernatural and divine beauty, holding in her hand a wreath of lilies. She embraced
him and closed his eyes so he could see no more, except with the eye of his spirit. She
impressed a deep and long and gently withdrawn kiss that left and eternal smile of
fulfillment upon his lips. Then the hovel became empty and nothing was lest save
parchments and papers which the poet had strewn with bitter futility.
Hundreds of years later, when the people of the city arose from the diseases slumber
of ignorance and saw the dawn of knowledge, they erected a monument in the most
beautiful garden of the city and celebrated a feast every year in honor of that poet,
whose writings had freed them. Oh, how cruel is man's ignorance!
Khalil Gibran
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A Poet's Voice XV
Part One
The power of charity sows deep in my heart, and I reap and gather the wheat in
bundles and give them to the hungry.
My soul gives life to the grapevine and I press its bunches and give the juice to the
thirsty.
Heaven fills my lamp with oil and I place it at my window to direct the stranger through
the dark.
I do all these things because I live in them; and if destiny should tie my hands and
prevent me from so doing, then death would be my only desire. For I am a poet, and if
I cannot give, I shall refuse to receive.
Humanity rages like a tempest, but I sigh in silence for I know the storm must pass
away while a sigh goes to God.
Human kinds cling to earthly things, but I seek ever to embrace the torch of love so it
will purify me by its fire and sear inhumanity from my heart.
Substantial things deaden a man without suffering; love awakens him with enlivening
pains.
Humans are divided into different clans and tribes, and belong to countries and towns.
But I find myself a stranger to all communities and belong to no settlement. The
universe is my country and the human family is my tribe.
Men are weak, and it is sad that they divide amongst themselves. The world is narrow
and it is unwise to cleave it into kingdoms, empires, and provinces.
Human kinds unite themselves one to destroy the temples of the soul, and they join
hands to build edifices for earthly bodies. I stand alone listening to the voice of hope in
my deep self saying, "As love enlivens a man's heart with pain, so ignorance teaches
him the way of knowledge." Pain and ignorance lead to great joy and knowledge
because the Supreme Being has created nothing vain under the sun.
Part Two
I have a yearning for my beautiful country, and I love its people because of their
misery. But if my people rose, stimulated by plunder and motivated by what they call
"patriotic spirit" to murder, and invaded my neighbor's country, then upon the
committing of any human atrocity I would hate my people and my country.
I sing the praise of my birthplace and long to see the home of my children; but if the
people in that home refused to shelter and feed the needy wayfarer, I would convert
my praise into anger and my longing to forgetfulness. My inner voice would say, "The
house that does not comfort the need is worthy of naught by destruction."
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I love my native village with some of my love for my country; and I love my country
with part of my love for the earth, all of which is my country; and I love the earth will
all of myself because it is the haven of humanity, the manifest spirit of God.
Humanity is the spirit of the Supreme Being on earth, and that humanity is standing
amidst ruins, hiding its nakedness behind tattered rags, shedding tears upon hollow
cheeks, and calling for its children with pitiful voice. But the children are busy singing
their clan's anthem; they are busy sharpening the swords and cannot hear the cry of
their mothers.
Humanity appeals to its people but they listen not. Were one to listen, and console a
mother by wiping her tears, other would say, "He is weak, affected by sentiment."
Humanity is the spirit of the Supreme Being on earth, and that Supreme Being
preaches love and good-will. But the people ridicule such teachings. The Nazarene
Jesus listened, and crucifixion was his lot; Socrates heard the voice and followed it, and
he too fell victim in body. The followers of The Nazarene and Socrates are the followers
of Deity, and since people will not kill them, they deride them, saying, "Ridicule is more
bitter than killing."
Jerusalem could not kill The Nazarene, nor Athens Socrates; they are living yet and
shall live eternally. Ridicule cannot triumph over the followers of Deity. They live and
grow forever.
Part Three
Thou art my brother because you are a human, and we both are sons of one Holy
Spirit; we are equal and made of the same earth.
You are here as my companion along the path of life, and my aid in understanding the
meaning of hidden Truth. You are a human, and, that fact sufficing, I love you as a
brother. You may speak of me as you choose, for Tomorrow shall take you away and
will use your talk as evidence for his judgment, and you shall receive justice.
You may deprive me of whatever I possess, for my greed instigated the amassing of
wealth and you are entitled to my lot if it will satisfy you.
You may do unto me whatever you wish, but you shall not be able to touch my Truth.
You may shed my blood and burn my body, but you cannot kill or hurt my spirit.
You may tie my hands with chains and my feet with shackles, and put me in the dark
prison, but who shall not enslave my thinking, for it is free, like the breeze in the
spacious sky.
You are my brother and I love you. I love you worshipping in your church, kneeling in
your temple, and praying in your mosque. You and I and all are children of one
religion, for the varied paths of religion are but the fingers of the loving hand of the
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Supreme Being, extended to all, offering completeness of spirit to all, anxious to
receive all.
I love you for your Truth, derived from your knowledge; that Truth which I cannot see
because of my ignorance. But I respect it as a divine thing, for it is the deed of the
spirit. Your Truth shall meet my Truth in the coming world and blend together like the
fragrance of flowers and becoming one whole and eternal Truth, perpetuating and
living in the eternity of Love and Beauty.
I love you because you are weak before the strong oppressor, and poor before the
greedy rich. For these reasons I shed tears and comfort you; and from behind my tears
I see you embraced in the arms of Justice, smiling and forgiving your persecutors. You
are my brother and I love you.
Part Four
You are my brother, but why are you quarreling with me? Why do you invade my
country and try to subjugate me for the sake of pleasing those who are seeking glory
and authority?
Why do you leave your wife and children and follow Death to the distant land for the
sake of those who buy glory with your blood, and high honor with your mother's tears?
Is it an honor for a man to kill his brother man? If you deem it an honor, let it be an
act of worship, and erect a temple to Cain who slew his brother Abel.
Is self-preservation the first law of Nature? Why, then, does Greed urge you to
self-sacrifice in order only to achieve his aim in hurting your brothers? Beware, my
brother, of the leader who says, "Love of existence obliges us to deprive the people of
their rights!" I say unto you but this: protecting others' rights is the noblest and most
beautiful human act; if my existence requires that I kill others, then death is more
honorable to me, and if I cannot find someone to kill me for the protection of my
honor, I will not hesitate to take my life by my own hands for the sake of Eternity
before Eternity comes.
Selfishness, my brother, is the cause of blind superiority, and superiority creates
clanship, and clanship creates authority which leads to discord and subjugation.
The soul believes in the power of knowledge and justice over dark ignorance; it denies
the authority that supplies the swords to defend and strengthen ignorance and
oppression - that authority which destroyed Babylon and shook the foundation of
Jerusalem and left Rome in ruins. It is that which made people call criminals great
mean; made writers respect their names; made historians relate the stories of their
inhumanity in manner of praise.
The only authority I obey is the knowledge of guarding and acquiescing in the Natural
Law of Justice.
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What justice does authority display when it kills the killer? When it imprisons the
robber? When it descends on a neighborhood country and slays its people? What does
justice think of the authority under which a killer punishes the one who kills, and a
thief sentences the one who steals?
You are my brother, and I love you; and Love is justice with its full intensity and
dignity. If justice did not support my love for you, regardless of your tribe and
community, I would be a deceiver concealing the ugliness of selfishness behind the
outer garment of pure love.
Conclusion
My soul is my friend who consoles me in misery and distress of life. He who does not
befriend his soul is an enemy of humanity, and he who does not find human guidance
within himself will perish desperately. Life emerges from within, and derives not from
environs.
I came to say a word and I shall say it now. But if death prevents its uttering, it will be
said tomorrow, for tomorrow never leaves a secret in the book of eternity.
I came to live in the glory of love and the light of beauty, which are the reflections of
God. I am here living, and the people are unable to exile me from the domain of life
for they know I will live in death. If they pluck my eyes I will hearken to the murmers
of love and the songs of beauty.
If they close my ears I will enjoy the touch of the breeze mixed with the incebse of love
and the fragrance of beauty.
If they place me in a vacuum, I will live together with my soul, the child of love and
beauty.
I came here to be for all and with all, and what I do today in my solitude will be echoed
by tomorrow to the people.
What I say now with one heart will be said tomorrow by many hearts
Khalil Gibran
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Beauty XXV
And a poet said, "Speak to us of Beauty."
Where shall you seek beauty, and how shall you find her unless she herself be your
way and your guide?
And how shall you speak of her except she be the weaver of your speech?
The aggrieved and the injured say, "Beauty is kind and gentle.
Like a young mother half-shy of her own glory she walks among us."
And the passionate say, "Nay, beauty is a thing of might and dread.
Like the tempest she shakes the earth beneath us and the sky above us."
The tired and the weary say, "beauty is of soft whisperings. She speaks in our spirit.
Her voice yields to our silences like a faint light that quivers in fear of the shadow."
But the restless say, "We have heard her shouting among the mountains,
And with her cries came the sound of hoofs, and the beating of wings and the roaring
of lions."
At night the watchmen of the city say, "Beauty shall rise with the dawn from the east."
And at noontide the toilers and the wayfarers say, "we have seen her leaning over the
earth from the windows of the sunset."
In winter say the snow-bound, "She shall come with the spring leaping upon the hills."
And in the summer heat the reapers say, "We have seen her dancing with the autumn
leaves, and we saw a drift of snow in her hair."
All these things have you said of beauty.
Yet in truth you spoke not of her but of needs unsatisfied,
And beauty is not a need but an ecstasy.
It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth,
But rather a heart enflamed and a soul enchanted.
It is not the image you would see nor the song you would hear,
But rather an image you see though you close your eyes and a song you hear though
you shut your ears.
It is not the sap within the furrowed bark, nor a wing attached to a claw,
But rather a garden forever in bloom and a flock of angels for ever in flight.
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People of Orphalese, beauty is life when life unveils her holy face.
But you are life and you are the veil.
Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.
But you are eternity and you are the mirror.
Khalil Gibran
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Before the Throne of Beauty XXVI
One heavy day I ran away from the grim face of society and the dizzying clamor of the
city and directed my weary step to the spacious alley. I pursued the beckoning course
of the rivulet and the musical sounds of the birds until I reached a lonely spot where
the flowing branches of the trees prevented the sun from the touching the earth.
I stood there, and it was entertaining to my soul - my thirsty soul who had seen
naught but the mirage of life instead of its sweetness.
I was engrossed deeply in thought and my spirits were sailing the firmament when a
hour, wearing a sprig of grapevine that covered part of her naked body, and a wreath
of poppies about her golden hair, suddenly appeared to me. As she she realized my
astonishment, she greeted me saying, "Fear me not; I am the Nymph of the Jungle."
"How can beauty like yours be committed to live in this place? Please tell me who your
are, and whence you come?" I asked. She sat gracefully on the green grass and
responded, "I am the symbol of nature! I am the ever virgin your forefathers
worshipped, and to my honor they erected shrines and temples at Baalbek and Jbeil."
And I dared say, "But those temples and shrines were laid waste and the bones of my
adoring ancestors became a part of the earth; nothing was left to commemorate their
goddess save a pitiful few and the forgotten pages in the book of history."
She replied, "Some goddesses live in the lives of their worshippers and die in their
deaths, while some live an eternal and infinite life. My life is sustained by the world of
beauty which you will see where ever you rest your eyes, and this beauty is nature
itself; it is the beginning of the shepherds joy among the hills, and a villagers
happiness in the fields, and the pleasure of the awe filled tribes between the mountains
and the plains. This Beauty promotes the wise into the throne the truth."
Then I said, "Beauty is a terrible power!" And she retorted, "Human beings fear all
things, even yourselves. You fear heaven, the source of spiritual peace; you fear
nature, the haven of rest and tranquility; you fear the God of goodness and accuse him
of anger, while he is full of love and mercy."
After a deep silence, mingled with sweet dreams, I asked, "Speak to me of that beauty
which the people interpret and define, each one according to his own conception; I
have seen her honored and worshipped in different ways and manners."
She answered, "Beauty is that which attracts your soul, and that which loves to give
and not to receive. When you meet Beauty, you feel that the hands deep within your
inner self are stretched forth to bring her into the domain of your heart. It is the
magnificence combined of sorrow and joy; it is the Unseen which you see, and the
Vague which you understand, and the Mute which you hear - it is the Holy of Holies
that begins in yourself and ends vastly beyond your earthly imagination."
Then the Nymph of the Jungle approached me and laid her scented hands upon my
eyes. And as she withdrew, I found me alone in the valley. When I returned to the city,
whose turbulence no longer vexed me, I repeated her words:
"Beauty is that which attracts your soul, and that which loves to give and not to
receive."
Khalil Gibran
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Buying and Selling chapter XI
And a merchant said, "Speak to us of Buying and Selling."
And he answered and said:
To you the earth yields her fruit, and you shall not want if you but know how to fill your
hands.
It is in exchanging the gifts of the earth that you shall find abundance and be satisfied.
Yet unless the exchange be in love and kindly justice, it will but lead some to greed
and others to hunger.
When in the market place you toilers of the sea and fields and vineyards meet the
weavers and the potters and the gatherers of spices, -
Invoke then the master spirit of the earth, to come into your midst and sanctify the
scales and the reckoning that weighs value against value.
And suffer not the barren-handed to take part in your transactions, who would sell
their words for your labour.
To such men you should say,
"Come with us to the field, or go with our brothers to the sea and cast your net;
For the land and the sea shall be bountiful to you even as to us."
And if there come the singers and the dancers and the flute players, - buy of their gifts
also.
For they too are gatherers of fruit and frankincense, and that which they bring, though
fashioned of dreams, is raiment and food for your soul.
And before you leave the marketplace, see that no one has gone his way with empty
hands.
For the master spirit of the earth shall not sleep peacefully upon the wind till the needs
of the least of you are satisfied.
Khalil Gibran
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Clothes chapter X
And the weaver said, "Speak to us of Clothes."
And he answered:
Your clothes conceal much of your beauty, yet they hide not the unbeautiful.
And though you seek in garments the freedom of privacy you may find in them a
harness and a chain.
Would that you could meet the sun and the wind with more of your skin and less of
your raiment,
For the breath of life is in the sunlight and the hand of life is in the wind.
Some of you say, "It is the north wind who has woven the clothes to wear."
But shame was his loom, and the softening of the sinews was his thread.
And when his work was done he laughed in the forest.
Forget not that modesty is for a shield against the eye of the unclean.
And when the unclean shall be no more, what were modesty but a fetter and a fouling
of the mind?
And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play
with your hair.
Khalil Gibran
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Crime and Punishment chapter XII
Then one of the judges of the city stood forth and said, "Speak to us of Crime and
Punishment."
And he answered saying:
It is when your spirit goes wandering upon the wind,
That you, alone and unguarded, commit a wrong unto others and therefore unto
yourself.
And for that wrong committed must you knock and wait a while unheeded at the gate
of the blessed.
Like the ocean is your god-self;
It remains for ever undefiled.
And like the ether it lifts but the winged.
Even like the sun is your god-self;
It knows not the ways of the mole nor seeks it the holes of the serpent.
But your god-self does not dwell alone in your being.
Much in you is still man, and much in you is not yet man,
But a shapeless pigmy that walks asleep in the mist searching for its own awakening.
And of the man in you would I now speak.
For it is he and not your god-self nor the pigmy in the mist, that knows crime and the
punishment of crime.
Oftentimes have I heard you speak of one who commits a wrong as though he were
not one of you, but a stranger unto you and an intruder upon your world.
But I say that even as the holy and the righteous cannot rise beyond the highest which
is in each one of you,
So the wicked and the weak cannot fall lower than the lowest which is in you also.
And as a single leaf turns not yellow but with the silent knowledge of the whole tree,
So the wrong-doer cannot do wrong without the hidden will of you all.
Like a procession you walk together towards your god-self.
You are the way and the wayfarers.
And when one of you falls down he falls for those behind him, a caution against the
stumbling stone.
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Ay, and he falls for those ahead of him, who though faster and surer of foot, yet
removed not the stumbling stone.
And this also, though the word lie heavy upon your hearts:
The murdered is not unaccountable for his own murder,
And the robbed is not blameless in being robbed.
The righteous is not innocent of the deeds of the wicked,
And the white-handed is not clean in the doings of the felon.
Yea, the guilty is oftentimes the victim of the injured,
And still more often the condemned is the burden-bearer for the guiltless and
unblamed.
You cannot separate the just from the unjust and the good from the wicked;
For they stand together before the face of the sun even as the black thread and the
white are woven together.
And when the black thread breaks, the weaver shall look into the whole cloth, and he
shall examine the loom also.
If any of you would bring judgment the unfaithful wife,
Let him also weight the heart of her husband in scales, and measure his soul with
measurements.
And let him who would lash the offender look unto the spirit of the offended.
And if any of you would punish in the name of righteousness and lay the ax unto the
evil tree, let him see to its roots;
And verily he will find the roots of the good and the bad, the fruitful and the fruitless,
all entwined together in the silent heart of the earth.
And you judges who would be just,
What judgment pronounce you upon him who though honest in the flesh yet is a thief
in spirit?
What penalty lay you upon him who slays in the flesh yet is himself slain in the spirit?
And how prosecute you him who in action is a deceiver and an oppressor,
Yet who also is aggrieved and outraged?
And how shall you punish those whose remorse is already greater than their misdeeds?
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Is not remorse the justice which is administered by that very law which you would fain
serve?
Yet you cannot lay remorse upon the innocent nor lift it from the heart of the guilty.
Unbidden shall it call in the night, that men may wake and gaze upon themselves.
And you who would understand justice, how shall you unless you look upon all deeds in
the fullness of light?
Only then shall you know that the erect and the fallen are but one man standing in
twilight between the night of his pigmy-self and the day of his god-self,
And that the corner-stone of the temple is not higher than the lowest stone in its
foundation.
Khalil Gibran
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Death XXVII
Then Almitra spoke, saying, "We would ask now of Death."
And he said:
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of
light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of
life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king
whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the
king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it
may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
Khalil Gibran
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Eating and Drinking chapter VI
Then an old man, a keeper of an inn, said, "Speak to us of Eating and Drinking."
And he said:
Would that you could live on the fragrance of the earth, and like an air plant be
sustained by the light.
But since you must kill to eat, and rob the young of its mother's milk to quench your
thirst, let it then be an act of worship,
And let your board stand an altar on which the pure and the innocent of forest and
plain are sacrificed for that which is purer and still more innocent in many.
When you kill a beast say to him in your heart,
"By the same power that slays you, I to am slain; and I too shall be consumed. For the
law that delivered you into my hand shall deliver me into a mightier hand.
Your blood and my blood is naught but the sap that feeds the tree of heaven."
And when you crush an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart,
"Your seeds shall live in my body,
And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart,
And your fragrance shall be my breath,
And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons."
And in the autumn, when you gather the grapes of your vineyard for the winepress,
say in you heart,
"I too am a vineyard, and my fruit shall be gathered for the winepress,
And like new wine I shall be kept in eternal vessels."
And in winter, when you draw the wine, let there be in your heart a song for each cup;
And let there be in the song a remembrance for the autumn days, and for the vineyard,
and for the winepress.
Khalil Gibran
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19
Freedom XIV
And an orator said, "Speak to us of Freedom."
And he answered:
At the city gate and by your fireside I have seen you prostrate yourself and worship
your own freedom,
Even as slaves humble themselves before a tyrant and praise him though he slays
them.
Ay, in the grove of the temple and in the shadow of the citadel I have seen the freest
among you wear their freedom as a yoke and a handcuff.
And my heart bled within me; for you can only be free when even the desire of seeking
freedom becomes a harness to you, and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal
and a fulfillment.
You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your nights without
a want and a grief,
But rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them naked and
unbound.
And how shall you rise beyond your days and nights unless you break the chains which
you at the dawn of your understanding have fastened around your noon hour?
In truth that which you call freedom is the strongest of these chains, though its links
glitter in the sun and dazzle the eyes.
And what is it but fragments of your own self you would discard that you may become
free?
If it is an unjust law you would abolish, that law was written with your own hand upon
your own forehead.
You cannot erase it by burning your law books nor by washing the foreheads of your
judges, though you pour the sea upon them.
And if it is a despot you would dethrone, see first that his throne erected within you is
destroyed.
For how can a tyrant rule the free and the proud, but for a tyranny in their own
freedom and a shame in their won pride?
And if it is a care you would cast off, that care has been chosen by you rather than
imposed upon you.
And if it is a fear you would dispel, the seat of that fear is in your heart and not in the
hand of the feared.
Verily all things move within your being in constant half embrace, the desired and the
dreaded, the repugnant and the cherished, the pursued and that which you would
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20
escape.
These things move within you as lights and shadows in pairs that cling.
And when the shadow fades and is no more, the light that lingers becomes a shadow to
another light.
And thus your freedom when it loses its fetters becomes itself the fetter of a greater
freedom.
Khalil Gibran
www.PoemHunter.com - The World's Poetry Archive
21
Friendship IXX
And a youth said, "Speak to us of Friendship."
Your friend is your needs answered.
He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.
When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the "nay" in your own mind, nor do you
withhold the "ay."
And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;
For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and
shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.
When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to
the climber is clearer from the plain.
And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net
cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.
And let your best be for your friend.
If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.
And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.
Khalil Gibran
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22
Giving chapter V
Then said a rich man, "Speak to us of Giving."
And he answered:
You give but little when you give of your possessions.
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need
them tomorrow?
And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the
trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?
And what is fear of need but need itself?
Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, thirst that is unquenchable?
There are those who give little of the much which they have - and they give it for
recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all.
These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor
give with mindfulness of virtue;
They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.
Though the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles
upon the earth.
It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;
And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving
And is there aught you would withhold?
All you have shall some day be given;
Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors'.
You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving."
The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.
They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.
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Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from
you.
And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from
your little stream.
And what desert greater shall there be than that which lies in the courage and the
confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?
And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you
may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?
See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.
For in truth it is life that gives unto life - while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but
a witness.
And you receivers - and you are all receivers - assume no weight of gratitude, lest you
lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.
Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;
For to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted
earth for mother, and God for father.
Khalil Gibran
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24
Good and Evil XXII
And one of the elders of the city said, "Speak to us of Good and Evil."
And he answered:
Of the good in you I can speak, but not of the evil.
For what is evil but good tortured by its own hunger and thirst?
Verily when good is hungry it seeks food even in dark caves, and when it thirsts, it
drinks even of dead waters.
You are good when you are one with yourself.
Yet when you are not one with yourself you are not evil.
For a divided house is not a den of thieves; it is only a divided house.
And a ship without rudder may wander aimlessly among perilous isles yet sink not to
the bottom.
You are good when you strive to give of yourself.
Yet you are not evil when you seek gain for yourself.
For when you strive for gain you are but a root that clings to the earth and sucks at her
breast.
Surely the fruit cannot say to the root, "Be like me, ripe and full and ever giving of
your abundance."
For to the fruit giving is a need, as receiving is a need to the root.
You are good when you are fully awake in your speech,
Yet you are not evil when you sleep while your tongue staggers without purpose.
And even stumbling speech may strengthen a weak tongue.
You are good when you walk to your goal firmly and with bold steps.
Yet you are not evil when you go thither limping.
Even those who limp go not backward.
But you who are strong and swift, see that you do not limp before the lame, deeming it
kindness.
You are good in countless ways, and you are not evil when you are not good,
You are only loitering and sluggard.
Pity that the stags cannot teach swiftness to the turtles.
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In your longing for your giant self lies your goodness: and that longing is in all of you.
But in some of you that longing is a torrent rushing with might to the sea, carrying the
secrets of the hillsides and the songs of the forest.
And in others it is a flat stream that loses itself in angles and bends and lingers before
it reaches the shore.
But let not him who longs much say to him who longs little, "Wherefore are you slow
and halting?"
For the truly good ask not the naked, "Where is your garment?" nor the houseless,
"What has befallen your house?"
Khalil Gibran
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26
Houses chapter IX
A mason came forth and said, "Speak to us of Houses."
And he answered and said:
Build of your imaginings a bower in the wilderness ere you build a house within the city
walls.
For even as you have home-comings in your twilight, so has the wanderer in you, the
ever distant and alone.
Your house is your larger body.
It grows in the sun and sleeps in the stillness of the night; and it is not dreamless.
Does not your house dream? And dreaming, leave the city for grove or hilltop?
Would that I could gather your houses into my hand, and like a sower scatter them in
forest and meadow.
Would the valleys were your streets, and the green paths your alleys, that you might
seek one another through vineyards, and come with the fragrance of the earth in your
garments.
But these things are not yet to be.
In their fear your forefathers gathered you too near together. And that fear shall
endure a little longer. A little longer shall your city walls separate your hearths from
your fields.
And tell me, people of Orphalese, what have you in these houses? And what is it you
guard with fastened doors?
Have you peace, the quiet urge that reveals your power?
Have you remembrances, the glimmering arches that span the summits of the mind?
Have you beauty, that leads the heart from things fashioned of wood and stone to the
holy mountain?
Tell me, have you these in your houses?
Or have you only comfort, and the lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the
house a guest, and becomes a host, and then a master?
Ay, and it becomes a tamer, and with hook and scourge makes puppets of your larger
desires.
Though its hands are silken, its heart is of iron.
It lulls you to sleep only to stand by your bed and jeer at the dignity of the flesh.
It makes mock of your sound senses, and lays them in thistledown like fragile vessels.
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Verily the lust for comfort murders the passion of the soul, and then walks grinning in
the funeral.
But you, children of space, you restless in rest, you shall not be trapped nor tamed.
Your house shall be not an anchor but a mast.
It shall not be a glistening film that covers a wound, but an eyelid that guards the eye.
You shall not fold your wings that you may pass through doors, nor bend your heads
that they strike not against a ceiling, nor fear to breathe lest walls should crack and fall
down.
You shall not dwell in tombs made by the dead for the living.
And though of magnificence and splendour, your house shall not hold your secret nor
shelter your longing.
For that which is boundless in you abides in the mansion of the sky, whose door is the
morning mist, and whose windows are the songs and the silences of night.
Khalil Gibran
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28
Joy and Sorrow chapter VIII
Then a woman said, "Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow."
And he answered:
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your
tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with
knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which
has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you
are weeping for that which has been your delight.
Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the
greater."
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that
the other is asleep upon your bed.
Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.
Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your
joy or your sorrow rise or fall.
Khalil Gibran
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29
Laughter and Tears IX
As the Sun withdrew his rays from the garden, and the moon threw cushioned beams
upon the flowers, I sat under the trees pondering upon the phenomena of the
atmosphere, looking through the branches at the strewn stars which glittered like chips
of silver upon a blue carpet; and I could hear from a distance the agitated murmur of
the rivulet singing its way briskly into the valley.
When the birds took shelter among the boughs, and the flowers folded their petals, and
tremendous silence descended, I heard a rustle of feet though the grass. I took heed
and saw a young couple approaching my arbor. The say under a tree where I could see
them without being seen.
After he looked about in every direction, I heard the young man saying, "Sit by me, my
beloved, and listen to my heart; smile, for your happiness is a symbol of our future; be
merry, for the sparkling days rejoice with us.
"My soul is warning me of the doubt in your heart, for doubt in love is a sin. "Soon you
will be the owner of this vast land, lighted by this beautiful moon; soon you will be the
mistress of my palace, and all the servants and maids will obey your commands.
"Smile, my beloved, like the gold smiles from my father's coffers.
"My heart refuses to deny you its secret. Twelve months of comfort and travel await
us; for a year we will spend my father's gold at the blue lakes of Switzerland, and
viewing the edifices of Italy and Egypt, and resting under the Holy Cedars of Lebanon;
you will meet the princesses who will envy you for your jewels and clothes.
"All these things I will do for you; will you be satisfied?"
In a little while I saw them walking and stepping on flowers as the rich step upon the
hearts of the poor. As they disappeared from my sight, I commenced to make
comparison between love and money, and to analyze their position in the heart.
Money! The source of insincere love; the spring of false light and fortune; the well of
poisoned water; the desperation of old age!
I was still wandering in the vast desert of contemplation when a forlorn and
specter-like couple passed by me and sat on the grass; a young man and a young
woman who had left their farming shacks in the nearby fields for this cool and solitary
place.
After a few moments of complete silence, I heard the following words uttered with
sighs from weather-bitten lips, "Shed not tears, my beloved; love that opens our eyes
and enslaves our hearts can give us the blessing of patience. Be consoled in our delay
our delay, for we have taken an oath and entered Love's shrine; for our love will ever
grow in adversity; for it is in Love's name that we are suffering the obstacles of poverty
and the sharpness of misery and the emptiness of separation. I shall attack these
hardships until I triumph and place in your hands a strength that will help over all
things to complete the journey of life.
"Love - which is God - will consider our sighs and tears as incense burned at His altar
and He will reward us with fortitude. Good-bye, my beloved; I must leave before the
heartening moon vanishes."
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A pure voice, combined of the consuming flame of love, and the hopeless bitterness of
longing and the resolved sweetness of patience, said, "Good-bye, my beloved."
They separated, and the elegy to their union was smothered by the wails of my crying
heart.
I looked upon slumbering Nature, and with deep reflection discovered the reality of a
vast and infinite thing -- something no power could demand, influence acquire, nor
riches purchase. Nor could it be effaced by the tears of time or deadened by sorrow; a
thing which cannot be discovered by the blue lakes of Switzerland or the beautiful
edifices of Italy.
It is something that gathers strength with patience, grows despite obstacles, warms in
winter, flourishes in spring, casts a breeze in summer, and bears fruit in autumn -- I
found Love.
Khalil Gibran
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31
Laws XIII
Then a lawyer said, "But what of our Laws, master?"
And he answered:
You delight in laying down laws,
Yet you delight more in breaking them.
Like children playing by the ocean who build sand-towers with constancy and then
destroy them with laughter.
But while you build your sand-towers the ocean brings more sand to the shore,
And when you destroy them, the ocean laughs with you.
Verily the ocean laughs always with the innocent.
But what of those to whom life is not an ocean, and man-made laws are not
sand-towers,
But to whom life is a rock, and the law a chisel with which they would carve it in their
own likeness?
What of the cripple who hates dancers?
What of the ox who loves his yoke and deems the elk and deer of the forest stray and
vagrant things?
What of the old serpent who cannot shed his skin, and calls all others naked and
shameless?
And of him who comes early to the wedding-feast, and when over-fed and tired goes
his way saying that all feasts are violation and all feasters law-breakers?
What shall I say of these save that they too stand in the sunlight, but with their backs
to the sun?
They see only their shadows, and their shadows are their laws.
And what is the sun to them but a caster of shadows?
And what is it to acknowledge the laws but to stoop down and trace their shadows
upon the earth?
But you who walk facing the sun, what images drawn on the earth can hold you?
You who travel with the wind, what weathervane shall direct your course?
What man's law shall bind you if you break your yoke but upon no man's prison door?
What laws shall you fear if you dance but stumble against no man's iron chains?
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And who is he that shall bring you to judgment if you tear off your garment yet leave it
in no man's path?
People of Orphalese, you can muffle the drum, and you can loosen the strings of the
lyre, but who shall command the skylark not to sing?
Khalil Gibran
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33
Leave Me, My Blamer XIII
Leave me, my blamer,
For the sake of the love
Which unites your soul with
That of your beloved one;
For the sake of that which
Joins spirit with mothers
Affection, and ties your
Heart with filial love. Go,
And leave me to my own
Weeping heart.
Let me sail in the ocean of
My dreams; Wait until Tomorrow
Comes, for tomorrow is free to
Do with me as he wishes. Your
Laying is naught but shadow
That walks with the spirit to
The tomb of abashment, and shows
Heard the cold, solid earth.
I have a little heart within me
And I like to bring him out of
His prison and carry him on the
Palm of my hand to examine him
In depth and extract his secret.
Aim not your arrows at him, lest
He takes fright and vanish 'ere he
Pours the secrets blood as a
Sacrifice at the altar of his
Own faith, given him by Deity
When he fashioned him of love and beauty.
The sun is rising and the nightingale
Is singing, and the myrtle is
Breathing its fragrance into space.
I want to free myself from the
Quilted slumber of wrong. Do not
Detain me, my blamer!
Cavil me not by mention of the
Lions of the forest or the
Snakes of the valley, for
Me soul knows no fear of earth and
Accepts no warning of evil before
Evil comes.
Advise me not, my blamer, for
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Calamities have opened my heart and
Tears have cleanses my eyes, and
Errors have taught me the language
Of the hearts.
Talk not of banishment, for conscience
Is my judge and he will justify me
And protect me if I am innocent, and
Will deny me of life if I am a criminal.
Love's procession is moving;
Beauty is waving her banner;
Youth is sounding the trumpet of joy;
Disturb not my contrition, my blamer.
Let me walk, for the path is rich
With roses and mint, and the air
Is scented with cleanliness.
Relate not the tales of wealth and
Greatness, for my soul is rich
With bounty and great with God's glory.
Speak not of peoples and laws and
Kingdoms, for the whole earth is
My birthplace and all humans are
My brothers.
Go from me, for you are taking away
Life - giving repentance and bringing
Needless words.
Khalil Gibran
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Pain XVI
Hi There! I see you're enjoying the site, and just wanted to extend an invitiation to
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Khalil Gibran
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Peace XVIII
The tempest calmed after bending the branches of the trees and leaning heavily upon
the grain in the field. The stars appeared as broken remnants of lightning, but now
silence prevailed over all, as if Nature's war had never been fought.
At that hour a young woman entered her chamber and knelt by her bed sobbing
bitterly. Her heart flamed with agony but she could finally open her lips and say, "Oh
Lord, bring him home safely to me. I have exhausted my tears and can offer no more,
oh Lord, full of love and mercy. My patience is drained and calamity is seeking
possession of my heart. Save him, oh Lord, from the iron paws of War; deliver him
from such unmerciful Death, for he is weak, governed by the strong. Oh Lord, save my
beloved, who is Thine own son, from the foe, who is Thy foe. Keep him from the forced
pathway to Death's door; let him see me, or come and take me to him."
Quietly a young man entered. His head was wrapped in bandage soaked with escaping
life.
He approached he with a greeting of tears and laughter, then took her hand and placed
against it his flaming lips. And with a voice with bespoke past sorrow, and joy of union,
and uncertainty of her reaction, he said, "Fear me not, for I am the object of your plea.
Be glad, for Peace has carried me back safely to you, and humanity has restored what
greed essayed to take from us. Be not sad, but smile, my beloved. Do not express
bewilderment, for Love has power that dispels Death; charm that conquers the enemy.
I am your one. Think me not a specter emerging from the House of Death to visit your
Home of Beauty.
"Do not be frightened, for I am now Truth, spared from swords and fire to reveal to the
people the triumph of Love over War. I am Word uttering introduction to the play of
happiness and peace."
Then the young man became speechless and his tears spoke the language of the heart;
and the angels of Joy hovered about that dwelling, and the two hearts restored the
singleness which had been taken from them.
At dawn the two stood in the middle of the field contemplating the beauty of Nature
injured by the tempest. After a deep and comforting silence, the soldier said to his
sweetheart, "Look at the Darkness, giving birth to the Sun."
Khalil Gibran
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Pleasure XXIV
Then a hermit, who visited the city once a year, came forth and said, "Speak to us of
Pleasure."
And he answered, saying:
Pleasure is a freedom song,
But it is not freedom.
It is the blossoming of your desires,
But it is not their fruit.
It is a depth calling unto a height,
But it is not the deep nor the high.
It is the caged taking wing,
But it is not space encompassed.
Ay, in very truth, pleasure is a freedom-song.
And I fain would have you sing it with fullness of heart; yet I would not have you lose
your hearts in the singing.
Some of your youth seek pleasure as if it were all, and they are judged and rebuked.
I would not judge nor rebuke them. I would have them seek.
For they shall find pleasure, but not her alone:
Seven are her sisters, and the least of them is more beautiful than pleasure.
Have you not heard of the man who was digging in the earth for roots and found a
treasure?
And some of your elders remember pleasures with regret like wrongs committed in
drunkenness.
But regret is the beclouding of the mind and not its chastisement.
They should remember their pleasures with gratitude, as they would the harvest of a
summer.
Yet if it comforts them to regret, let them be comforted.
And there are among you those who are neither young to seek nor old to remember;
And in their fear of seeking and remembering they shun all pleasures, lest they neglect
the spirit or offend against it.
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But even in their foregoing is their pleasure.
And thus they too find a treasure though they dig for roots with quivering hands.
But tell me, who is he that can offend the spirit?
Shall the nightingale offend the stillness of the night, or the firefly the stars?
And shall your flame or your smoke burden the wind?
Think you the spirit is a still pool which you can trouble with a staff?
Oftentimes in denying yourself pleasure you do but store the desire in the recesses of
your being.
Who knows but that which seems omitted today, waits for tomorrow?
Even your body knows its heritage and its rightful need and will not be deceived.
And your body is the harp of your soul,
And it is yours to bring forth sweet music from it or confused sounds.
And now you ask in your heart, "How shall we distinguish that which is good in
pleasure from that which is not good?"
Go to your fields and your gardens, and you shall learn that it is the pleasure of the
bee to gather honey of the flower,
But it is also the pleasure of the flower to yield its honey to the bee.
For to the bee a flower is a fountain of life,
And to the flower a bee is a messenger of love,
And to both, bee and flower, the giving and the receiving of pleasure is a need and an
ecstasy.
People of Orphalese, be in your pleasures like the flowers and the bees.
Khalil Gibran
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39
Prayer XXIII
Then a priestess said, "Speak to us of Prayer."
And he answered, saying:
You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the
fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.
For what is prayer but the expansion of yourself into the living ether?
And if it is for your comfort to pour your darkness into space, it is also for your delight
to pour forth the dawning of your heart.
And if you cannot but weep when your soul summons you to prayer, she should spur
you again and yet again, though weeping, until you shall come laughing.
When you pray you rise to meet in the air those who are praying at that very hour, and
whom save in prayer you may not meet.
Therefore let your visit to that temple invisible be for naught but ecstasy and sweet
communion.
For if you should enter the temple for no other purpose than asking you shall not
receive.
And if you should enter into it to humble yourself you shall not be lifted:
Or even if you should enter into it to beg for the good of others you shall not be heard.
It is enough that you enter the temple invisible.
I cannot teach you how to pray in words.
God listens not to your words save when He Himself utters them through your lips.
And I cannot teach you the prayer of the seas and the forests and the mountains.
But you who are born of the mountains and the forests and the seas can find their
prayer in your heart,
And if you but listen in the stillness of the night you shall hear them saying in silence,
"Our God, who art our winged self, it is thy will in us that willeth.
It is thy desire in us that desireth.
It is thy urge in us that would turn our nights, which are thine, into days which are
thine also.
We cannot ask thee for aught, for thou knowest our needs before they are born in us:
Thou art our need; and in giving us more of thyself thou givest us all."
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Khalil Gibran
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Reason and Passion XV
And the priestess spoke again and said: "Speak to us of Reason and Passion."
And he answered saying:
Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield, upon which your reason and your judgment wage
war against passion and your appetite.
Would that I could be the peacemaker in your soul, that I might turn the discord and
the rivalry of your elements into oneness and melody.
But how shall I, unless you yourselves be also the peacemakers, nay, the lovers of all
your elements?
Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your seafaring soul.
If either your sails or our rudder be broken, you can but toss and drift, or else be held
at a standstill in mid-seas.
For reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended, is a flame that
burns to its own destruction.
Therefore let your soul exalt your reason to the height of passion; that it may sing;
And let it direct your passion with reason, that your passion may live through its own
daily resurrection, and like the phoenix rise above its own ashes.
I would have you consider your judgment and your appetite even as you would two
loved guests in your house.
Surely you would not honour one guest above the other; for he who is more mindful of
one loses the love and the faith of both.
Among the hills, when you sit in the cool shade of the white poplars, sharing the peace
and serenity of distant fields and meadows - then let your heart say in silence, "God
rests in reason."
And when the storm comes, and the mighty wind shakes the forest, and thunder and
lightning proclaim the majesty of the sky, - then let your heart say in awe, "God moves
in passion."
And since you are a breath In God's sphere, and a leaf in God's forest, you too should
rest in reason and move in passion.
Khalil Gibran
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42
Religion XXVI
And an old priest said, "Speak to us of Religion."
And he said:
Have I spoken this day of aught else?
Is not religion all deeds and all reflection,
And that which is neither deed nor reflection, but a wonder and a surprise ever
springing in the soul, even while the hands hew the stone or tend the loom?
Who can separate his faith from his actions, or his belief from his occupations?
Who can spread his hours before him, saying, "This for God and this for myself; This
for my soul, and this other for my body?"
All your hours are wings that beat through space from self to self.
He who wears his morality but as his best garment were better naked.
The wind and the sun will tear no holes in his skin.
And he who defines his conduct by ethics imprisons his song-bird in a cage.
The freest song comes not through bars and wires.
And he to whom worshipping is a window, to open but also to shut, has not yet visited
the house of his soul whose windows are from dawn to dawn.
Your daily life is your temple and your religion.
Whenever you enter into it take with you your all.
Take the plough and the forge and the mallet and the lute,
The things you have fashioned in necessity or for delight.
For in revery you cannot rise above your achievements nor fall lower than your
failures.
And take with you all men:
For in adoration you cannot fly higher than their hopes nor humble yourself lower than
their despair.
And if you would know God be not therefore a solver of riddles.
Rather look about you and you shall see Him playing with your children.
And look into space; you shall see Him walking in the cloud, outstretching His arms in
the lightning and descending in rain.
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You shall see Him smiling in flowers, then rising and waving His hands in trees.
Khalil Gibran
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44
Self-Knowledge XVII
And a man said, "Speak to us of Self-Knowledge."
And he answered, saying:
Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights.
But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart's knowledge.
You would know in words that which you have always know in thought.
You would touch with your fingers the naked body of your dreams.
And it is well you should.
The hidden well-spring of your soul must needs rise and run murmuring to the sea;
And the treasure of your infinite depths would be revealed to your eyes.
But let there be no scales to weigh your unknown treasure;
And seek not the depths of your knowledge with staff or sounding line.
For self is a sea boundless and measureless.
Say not, "I have found the truth," but rather, "I have found a truth."
Say not, "I have found the path of the soul." Say rather, "I have met the soul walking
upon my path."
For the soul walks upon all paths.
The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.
The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals.
Khalil Gibran
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45
Song of Fortune VI
Man and I are sweethearts
He craves me and I long for him,
But alas! Between us has appeared
A rival who brings us misery.
She is cruel and demanding,
Possessing empty lure.
Her name is Substance.
She follows wherever we go
And watches like a sentinel, bringing
Restlessness to my lover.
I ask for my beloved in the forest,
Under the trees, by the lakes.
I cannot find him, for Substance
Has spirited him to the clamorous
City and placed him on the throne
Of quaking, metal riches.
I call for him with the voice of
Knowledge and the song of Wisdom.
He does not hearken, for Substance
Has enticed him into the dungeon
Of selfishness, where avarice dwells.
I seek him in the field of Contentment,
But I am alone, for my rival has
Imprisoned him in the cave of gluttony
And greed, and locked him there
With painful chains of gold.
I call to him at dawn, when Nature smiles,
But he does not hear, for excess has
Laden his drugged eyes with sick slumber.
I beguile him at eventide, when Silence rules
And the flowers sleep. But he responds not,
For his fear over what the morrow will Bring,
shadows his thoughts.
He yearns to love me;
He asks for me in this own acts. But he
Will find me not except in God's acts.
He seeks me in the edifices of his glory
Which he has built upon the bones of others;
He whispers to me from among
His heaps of gold and silver;
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But he will find me only by coming to
The house of Simplicity which God has built
At the brink of the stream of affection.
He desires to kiss me before his coffers,
But his lips will never touch mine except
In the richness of the pure breeze.
He asks me to share with him his
Fabulous wealth, but I will not forsake God's
Fortune; I will not cast off my cloak of beauty.
He seeks deceit for medium; I seek only
The medium of his heart.
He bruises his heart in his narrow cell;
I would enrich his heart with all my love.
My beloved has learned how to shriek and
Cry for my enemy, Substance; I would
Teach him how to shed tears of affection
And mercy from the eyes of his soul
For all things,
And utter sighs of contentment through
Those tears.
Man is my sweetheart;
I want to belong to him.
Khalil Gibran
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47
Song of Love XXIV
I am the lover's eyes, and the spirit's
Wine, and the heart's nourishment.
I am a rose. My heart opens at dawn and
The virgin kisses me and places me
Upon her breast.
I am the house of true fortune, and the
Origin of pleasure, and the beginning
Of peace and tranquility. I am the gentle
Smile upon his lips of beauty. When youth
Overtakes me he forgets his toil, and his
Whole life becomes reality of sweet dreams.
I am the poet's elation,
And the artist's revelation,
And the musician's inspiration.
I am a sacred shrine in the heart of a
Child, adored by a merciful mother.
I appear to a heart's cry; I shun a demand;
My fullness pursues the heart's desire;
It shuns the empty claim of the voice.
I appeared to Adam through Eve
And exile was his lot;
Yet I revealed myself to Solomon, and
He drew wisdom from my presence.
I smiled at Helena and she destroyed Tarwada;
Yet I crowned Cleopatra and peace dominated
The Valley of the Nile.
I am like the ages -- building today
And destroying tomorrow;
I am like a god, who creates and ruins;
I am sweeter than a violet's sigh;
I am more violent than a raging tempest.
Gifts alone do not entice me;
Parting does not discourage me;
Poverty does not chase me;
Jealousy does not prove my awareness;
Madness does not evidence my presence.
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Oh seekers, I am Truth, beseeching Truth;
And your Truth in seeking and receiving
And protecting me shall determine my
Behavior.
Khalil Gibran
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49
Song of Man XXV
I was here from the moment of the
Beginning, and here I am still. And
I shall remain here until the end
Of the world, for there is no
Ending to my grief-stricken being.
I roamed the infinite sky, and
Soared in the ideal world, and
Floated through the firmament. But
Here I am, prisoner of measurement.
I heard the teachings of Confucius;
I listened to Brahma's wisdom;
I sat by Buddha under the Tree of Knowledge.
Yet here I am, existing with ignorance
And heresy.
I was on Sinai when Jehovah approached Moses;
I saw the Nazarene's miracles at the Jordan;
I was in Medina when Mohammed visited.
Yet I here I am, prisoner of bewilderment.
Then I witnessed the might of Babylon;
I learned of the glory of Egypt;
I viewed the warring greatness of Rome.
Yet my earlier teachings showed the
Weakness and sorrow of those achievements.
I conversed with the magicians of Ain Dour;
I debated with the priests of Assyria;
I gleaned depth from the prophets of Palestine.
Yet, I am still seeking truth.
I gathered wisdom from quiet India;
I probed the antiquity of Arabia;
I heard all that can be heard.
Yet, my heart is deaf and blind.
I suffered at the hands of despotic rulers;
I suffered slavery under insane invaders;
I suffered hunger imposed by tyranny;
Yet, I still possess some inner power
With which I struggle to great each day.
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My mind is filled, but my heart is empty;
My body is old, but my heart is an infant.
Perhaps in youth my heart will grow, but I
Pray to grow old and reach the moment of
My return to God. Only then will my heart fill!
I was here from the moment of the
Beginning, and here I am still. And
I shall remain here until the end
Of of world, for there is no
Ending to my grief-stricken being.
Khalil Gibran
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51
Song of the Flower XXIII
I am a kind word uttered and repeated
By the voice of Nature;
I am a star fallen from the
Blue tent upon the green carpet.
I am the daughter of the elements
With whom Winter conceived;
To whom Spring gave birth; I was
Reared in the lap of Summer and I
Slept in the bed of Autumn.
At dawn I unite with the breeze
To announce the coming of light;
At eventide I join the birds
In bidding the light farewell.
The plains are decorated with
My beautiful colors, and the air
Is scented with my fragrance.
As I embrace Slumber the eyes of
Night watch over me, and as I
Awaken I stare at the sun, which is
The only eye of the day.
I drink dew for wine, and hearken to
The voices of the birds, and dance
To the rhythmic swaying of the grass.
I am the lover's gift; I am the wedding wreath;
I am the memory of a moment of happiness;
I am the last gift of the living to the dead;
I am a part of joy and a part of sorrow.
But I look up high to see only the light,
And never look down to see my shadow.
This is wisdom which man must learn.
Khalil Gibran
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52
Song of the Rain VII
Hi There! I see you're enjoying the site, and just wanted to extend an invitiation to
register for our free site. The members of oldpoetry strive to make this a fun place to
learn and share - hope you join us! - Kevin
Khalil Gibran
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53
Song of the Soul XXII
In the depth of my soul there is
A wordless song - a song that lives
In the seed of my heart.
It refuses to melt with ink on
Parchment; it engulfs my affection
In a transparent cloak and flows,
But not upon my lips.
How can I sigh it? I fear it may
Mingle with earthly ether;
To whom shall I sing it? It dwells
In the house of my soul, in fear of
Harsh ears.
When I look into my inner eyes
I see the shadow of its shadow;
When I touch my fingertips
I feel its vibrations.
The deeds of my hands heed its
Presence as a lake must reflect
The glittering stars; my tears
Reveal it, as bright drops of dew
Reveal the secret of a withering rose.
It is a song composed by contemplation,
And published by silence,
And shunned by clamor,
And folded by truth,
And repeated by dreams,
And understood by love,
And hidden by awakening,
And sung by the soul.
It is the song of love;
What Cain or Esau could sing it?
It is more fragrant than jasmine;
What voice could enslave it?
It is heartbound, as a virgin's secret;
What string could quiver it?
Who dares unite the roar of the sea
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And the singing of the nightingale?
Who dares compare the shrieking tempest
To the sigh of an infant?
Who dares speak aloud the words
Intended for the heart to speak?
What human dares sing in voice
The song of God?
Khalil Gibran
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55
Song of the Wave XVII
The strong shore is my beloved
And I am his sweetheart.
We are at last united by love, and
Then the moon draws me from him.
I go to him in haste and depart
Reluctantly, with many
Little farewells.
I steal swiftly from behind the
Blue horizon to cast the silver of
My foam upon the gold of his sand, and
We blend in melted brilliance.
I quench his thirst and submerge his
Heart; he softens my voice and subdues
My temper.
At dawn I recite the rules of love upon
His ears, and he embraces me longingly.
At eventide I sing to him the song of
Hope, and then print smooth hisses upon
His face; I am swift and fearful, but he
Is quiet, patient, and thoughtful. His
Broad bosom soothes my restlessness.
As the tide comes we caress each other,
When it withdraws, I drop to his feet in
Prayer.
Many times have I danced around mermaids
As they rose from the depths and rested
Upon my crest to watch the stars;
Many times have I heard lovers complain
Of their smallness, and I helped them to sigh.
Many times have I teased the great rocks
And fondled them with a smile, but never
Have I received laughter from them;
Many times have I lifted drowning souls
And carried them tenderly to my beloved
Shore. He gives them strength as he
Takes mine.
Many times have I stolen gems from the
Depths and presented them to my beloved
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Shore. He takes them in silence, but still
I give fro he welcomes me ever.
In the heaviness of night, when all
Creatures seek the ghost of Slumber, I
Sit up, singing at one time and sighing
At another. I am awake always.
Alas! Sleeplessness has weakened me!
But I am a lover, and the truth of love
Is strong.
I may be weary, but I shall never die.
Khalil Gibran
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57
Talking XX
And then a scholar said, "Speak of Talking."
And he answered, saying:
You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts;
And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips,
and sound is a diversion and a pastime.
And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered.
For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words many indeed unfold its wings but
cannot fly.
There are those among you who seek the talkative through fear of being alone.
The silence of aloneness reveals to their eyes their naked selves and they would
escape.
And there are those who talk, and without knowledge or forethought reveal a truth
which they themselves do not understand.
And there are those who have the truth within them, but they tell it not in words.
In the bosom of such as these the spirit dwells in rhythmic silence.
When you meet your friend on the roadside or in the market place, let the spirit in you
move your lips and direct your tongue.
Let the voice within your voice speak to the ear of his ear;
For his soul will keep the truth of your heart as the taste of the wine is remembered
When the color is forgotten and the vessel is no more.
Khalil Gibran
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58
Teaching XVIII
Then said a teacher, "Speak to us of Teaching."
And he said:
No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning
of our knowledge.
The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of
his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness.
If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of wisdom, but rather leads
you to the threshold of your own mind.
The astronomer may speak to you of his understanding of space, but he cannot give
you his understanding.
The musician may sing to you of the rhythm which is in all space, but he cannot give
you the ear which arrests the rhythm nor the voice that echoes it.
And he who is versed in the science of numbers can tell of the regions of weight and
measure, but he cannot conduct you thither.
For the vision of one man lends not its wings to another man.
And even as each one of you stands alone in God's knowledge, so must each one of
you be alone in his knowledge of God and in his understanding of the earth.
Khalil Gibran
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59
The Beauty of Death XIV
Part One - The Calling
Let me sleep, for my soul is intoxicated with love and
Let me rest, for my spirit has had its bounty of days and nights;
Light the candles and burn the incense around my bed, and
Scatter leaves of jasmine and roses over my body;
Embalm my hair with frankincense and sprinkle my feet with perfume,
And read what the hand of Death has written on my forehead.
Let me rest in the arms of Slumber, for my open eyes are tired;
Let the silver-stringed lyre quiver and soothe my spirit;
Weave from the harp and lute a veil around my withering heart.
Sing of the past as you behold the dawn of hope in my eyes, for
It's magic meaning is a soft bed upon which my heart rests.
Dry your tears, my friends, and raise your heads as the flowers
Raise their crowns to greet the dawn.
Look at the bride of Death standing like a column of light
Between my bed and the infinite;
Hold your breath and listen with me to the beckoning rustle of
Her white wings.
Come close and bid me farewell; touch my eyes with smiling lips.
Let the children grasp my hands with soft and rosy fingers;
Let the ages place their veined hands upon my head and bless me;
Let the virgins come close and see the shadow of God in my eyes,
And hear the echo of His will racing with my breath.
Part Two - The Ascending
I have passed a mountain peak and my soul is soaring in the
Firmament of complete and unbound freedom;
I am far, far away, my companions, and the clouds are
Hiding the hills from my eyes.
The valleys are becoming flooded with an ocean of silence, and the
Hands of oblivion are engulfing the roads and the houses;
The prairies and fields are disappearing behind a white specter
That looks like the spring cloud, yellow as the candlelight
And red as the twilight.
The songs of the waves and the hymns of the streams
Are scattered, and the voices of the throngs reduced to silence;
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And I can hear naught but the music of Eternity
In exact harmony with the spirit's desires.
I am cloaked in full whiteness;
I am in comfort; I am in peace.
Part Three - The Remains
Unwrap me from this white linen shroud and clothe me
With leaves of jasmine and lilies;
Take my body from the ivory casket and let it rest
Upon pillows of orange blossoms.
Lament me not, but sing songs of youth and joy;
Shed not tears upon me, but sing of harvest and the winepress;
Utter no sigh of agony, but draw upon my face with your
Finger the symbol of Love and Joy.
Disturb not the air's tranquility with chanting and requiems,
But let your hearts sing with me the song of Eternal Life;
Mourn me not with apparel of black,
But dress in color and rejoice with me;
Talk not of my departure with sighs in your hearts; close
Your eyes and you will see me with you forevermore.
Place me upon clusters of leaves and
Carry my upon your friendly shoulders and
Walk slowly to the deserted forest.
Take me not to the crowded burying ground lest my slumber
Be disrupted by the rattling of bones and skulls.
Carry me to the cypress woods and dig my grave where violets
And poppies grow not in the other's shadow;
Let my grave be deep so that the flood will not
Carry my bones to the open valley;
Let my grace be wide, so that the twilight shadows
Will come and sit by me.
Take from me all earthly raiment and place me deep in my
Mother Earth; and place me with care upon my mother's breast.
Cover me with soft earth, and let each handful be mixed
With seeds of jasmine, lilies and myrtle; and when they
Grow above me, and thrive on my body's element they will
Breathe the fragrance of my heart into space;
And reveal even to the sun the secret of my peace;
And sail with the breeze and comfort the wayfarer.
Leave me then, friends - leave me and depart on mute feet,
As the silence walks in the deserted valley;
Leave me to God and disperse yourselves slowly, as the almond
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And apple blossoms disperse under the vibration of Nisan's breeze.
Go back to the joy of your dwellings and you will find there
That which Death cannot remove from you and me.
Leave with place, for what you see here is far away in meaning
From the earthly world. Leave me.
Khalil Gibran
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62
The City of the Dead XX
Yesterday I drew myself from the noisome throngs and proceeded into the field until I
reached a knoll upon which Nature had spread her comely garments. Now I could
breathe.
I looked back, and the city appeared with its magnificent mosques and stately
residences veiled by the smoke of the shops.
I commenced analyzing man's mission, but could conclude only that most of his life
was identified with struggle and hardship. Then I tried not to ponder over what the
sons of Adam had done, and centered my eyes on the field which is the throne of God's
glory. In one secluded corner of the field I observed a burying ground surrounded by
poplar trees.
There, between the city of the dead and the city of the living, I meditated. I thought of
the eternal silence in the first and the endless sorrow in the second.
In the city of the living I found hope and despair; love and hatred, joy and sorrow,
wealth and poverty, faith and infidelity.
In the city of the dead there is buried earth in earth that Nature converts, in the night's
silence, into vegetation, and then into animal, and then into man. As my mind
wandered in this fashion, I saw a procession moving slowly and reverently,
accompanied by pieces of music that filled the sky with sad melody. It was an
elaborate funeral. The dead was followed by the living who wept and lamented his
going. As the cortege reached the place of interment the priests commenced praying
and burning incense, and musicians blowing and plucking their instruments, mourning
the departed. Then the leaders came forward one after the other and recited their
eulogies with fine choice of words.
At last the multitude departed, leaving the dead resting in a most spacious and
beautiful vault, expertly designed in stone and iron, and surrounded by the most
expensively-entwined wreaths of flowers.
The farewell-bidders returned to the city and I remained, watching them from a
distance and speaking softly to myself while the sun was descending to the horizon and
Nature was making her many preparations for slumber.
Then I saw two men laboring under the weight of a wooden casket, and behind them a
shabby-appearing woman carrying an infant on her arms. Following last was a dog
who, with heartbreaking eyes, stared first at the woman and then at the casket.
It was a poor funeral. This guest of Death left to cold society a miserable wife and an
infant to share her sorrows and a faithful dog whose heart knew of his companion's
departure.
As they reached the burial place they deposited the casket into a ditch away from the
tended shrubs and marble stones, and retreated after a few simple words to God. The
dog made one last turn to look at his friend's grave as the small group disappeared
behind the trees.
I looked at the city of the living and said to myself, "That place belongs to the few."
Then I looked upon the trim city of the dead and said, "That place, too, belongs to the
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few. Oh Lord, where is the haven of all the people?"
As I said this, I looked toward the clouds, mingled with the sun's longest and most
beautiful golden rays. And I heard a voice within me saying, "Over there!"
Khalil Gibran
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The Creation I
The God separated a spirit from Himself and fashioned it into Beauty. He showered
upon her all the blessings of gracefulness and kindness. He gave her the cup of
happiness and said, "Drink not from this cup unless you forget the past and the future,
for happiness is naught but the moment." And He also gave her a cup of sorrow and
said, "Drink from this cup and you will understand the meaning of the fleeting instants
of the joy of life, for sorrow ever abounds."
And the God bestowed upon her a love that would desert he forever upon her first sigh
of earthly satisfaction, and a sweetness that would vanish with her first awareness of
flattery.
And He gave her wisdom from heaven to lead to the all-righteous path, and placed in
the depth of her heart and eye that sees the unseen, and created in he an affection
and goodness toward all things. He dressed her with raiment of hopes spun by the
angels of heaven from the sinews of the rainbow. And He cloaked her in the shadow of
confusion, which is the dawn of life and light.
Then the God took consuming fire from the furnace of anger, and searing wind from
the desert of ignorance, and sharp- cutting sands from the shore of selfishness, and
coarse earth from under the feet of ages, and combined them all and fashioned Man.
He gave to Man a blind power that rages and drives him into a madness which
extinguishes only before gratification of desire, and placed life in him which is the
specter of death.
And the god laughed and cried. He felt an overwhelming love and pity for Man, and
sheltered him beneath His guidance.
Khalil Gibran
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The Criminal V
A young man of strong body, weakened by hunger, sat on the walker's portion of the
street stretching his hand toward all who passed, begging and repeating his hand
toward all who passed, begging and repeating the sad song of his defeat in life, while
suffering from hunger and from humiliation.
When night came, his lips and tongue were parched, while his hand was still as empty
as his stomach.
He gathered himself and went out from the city, where he sat under a tree and wept
bitterly. Then he lifted his puzzled eyes to heaven while hunger was eating his inside,
and he said, "Oh Lord, I went to the rich man and asked for employment, but he
turned me away because of my shabbiness; I knocked at the school door, but was
forbidden solace because I was empty- handed; I sought any occupation that would
give me bread, but all to no avail. In desperation I asked alms, but They worshippers
saw me and said "He is strong and lazy, and he should not beg."
"Oh Lord, it is Thy will that my mother gave birth unto me, and now the earth offers
me back to You before the Ending."
His expression then changed. He arose and his eyes now glittered in determination. He
fashioned a thick and heavy stick from the branch of the tree, and pointed it toward
the city, shouting, "I asked for bread with all the strength of my voice, and was
refused. Not I shall obtain it by the strength of my muscles! I asked for bread in the
name of mercy and love, but humanity did not heed. I shall take it now in the name of
evil!"
The passing years rendered the youth a robber, killer and destroyer of souls; he
crushed all who opposed him; he amassed fabulous wealth with which he won himself
over to those in power. He was admired by colleagues, envied by other thieves, and
feared by the multitudes.
His riches and false position prevailed upon the Emir to appoint him deputy in that city
- the sad process pursued by unwise governors. Thefts were then legalized; oppression
was supported by authority; crushing of the weak became commonplace; the throngs
curried and praised.
Thus does the first touch of humanity's selfishness make criminals of the humble, and
make killers of the sons of peace; thus does the early greed of humanity grow and
strike back at humanity a thousand fold!
Khalil Gibran
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The Farewell XXVIII
And now it was evening.
And Almitra the seeress said, "Blessed be this day and this place and your spirit that
has spoken."
And he answered, Was it I who spoke? Was I not also a listener?
Then he descended the steps of the Temple and all the people followed him. And he
reached his ship and stood upon the deck.
And facing the people again, he raised his voice and said:
People of Orphalese, the wind bids me leave you.
Less hasty am I than the wind, yet I must go.
We wanderers, ever seeking the lonelier way, begin no day where we have ended
another day; and no sunrise finds us where sunset left us.
Even while the earth sleeps we travel.
We are the seeds of the tenacious plant, and it is in our ripeness and our fullness of
heart that we are given to the wind and are scattered.
Brief were my days among you, and briefer still the words I have spoken.
But should my voice fade in your ears, and my love vanish in your memory, then I will
come again,
And with a richer heart and lips more yielding to the spirit will I speak.
Yea, I shall return with the tide,
And though death may hide me, and the greater silence enfold me, yet again will I
seek your understanding.
And not in vain will I seek.
If aught I have said is truth, that truth shall reveal itself in a clearer voice, and in
words more kin to your thoughts.
I go with the wind, people of Orphalese, but not down into emptiness;
And if this day is not a fulfillment of your needs and my love, then let it be a promise
till another day. Know therefore, that from the greater silence I shall return.
The mist that drifts away at dawn, leaving but dew in the fields, shall rise and gather
into a cloud and then fall down in rain.
And not unlike the mist have I been.
In the stillness of the night I have walked in your streets, and my spirit has entered
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your houses,
And your heart-beats were in my heart, and your breath was upon my face, and I knew
you all.
Ay, I knew your joy and your pain, and in your sleep your dreams were my dreams.
And oftentimes I was among you a lake among the mountains.
I mirrored the summits in you and the bending slopes, and even the passing flocks of
your thoughts and your desires.
And to my silence came the laughter of your children in streams, and the longing of
your youths in rivers.
And when they reached my depth the streams and the rivers ceased not yet to sing.
But sweeter still than laughter and greater than longing came to me.
It was boundless in you;
The vast man in whom you are all but cells and sinews;
He in whose chant all your singing is but a soundless throbbing.
It is in the vast man that you are vast,
And in beholding him that I beheld you and loved you.
For what distances can love reach that are not in that vast sphere?
What visions, what expectations and what presumptions can outsoar that flight?
Like a giant oak tree covered with apple blossoms is the vast man in you.
His mind binds you to the earth, his fragrance lifts you into space, and in his durability
you are deathless.
You have been told that, even like a chain, you are as weak as your weakest link.
This is but half the truth. You are also as strong as your strongest link.
To measure you by your smallest deed is to reckon the power of ocean by the frailty of
its foam.
To judge you by your failures is to cast blame upon the seasons for their inconsistency.
Ay, you are like an ocean,
And though heavy-grounded ships await the tide upon your shores, yet, even like an
ocean, you cannot hasten your tides.
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And like the seasons you are also,
And though in your winter you deny your spring,
Yet spring, reposing within you, smiles in her drowsiness and is not offended.
Think not I say these things in order that you may say the one to the other, "He
praised us well. He saw but the good in us."
I only speak to you in words of that which you yourselves know in thought.
And what is word knowledge but a shadow of wordless knowledge?
Your thoughts and my words are waves from a sealed memory that keeps records of
our yesterdays,
And of the ancient days when the earth knew not us nor herself,
And of nights when earth was upwrought with confusion,
Wise men have come to you to give you of their wisdom. I came to take of your
wisdom:
And behold I have found that which is greater than wisdom.
It is a flame spirit in you ever gathering more of itself,
While you, heedless of its expansion, bewail the withering of your days.
It is life in quest of life in bodies that fear the grave.
There are no graves here.
These mountains and plains are a cradle and a stepping-stone.
Whenever you pass by the field where you have laid your ancestors look well
thereupon, and you shall see yourselves and your children dancing hand in hand.
Verily you often make merry without knowing.
Others have come to you to whom for golden promises made unto your faith you have
given but riches and power and glory.
Less than a promise have I given, and yet more generous have you been to me.
You have given me deeper thirsting after life.
Surely there is no greater gift to a man than that which turns all his aims into parching
lips and all life into a fountain.
And in this lies my honour and my reward, -
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That whenever I come to the fountain to drink I find the living water itself thirsty;
And it drinks me while I drink it.
Some of you have deemed me proud and over-shy to receive gifts.
To proud indeed am I to receive wages, but not gifts.
And though I have eaten berries among the hill when you would have had me sit at
your board,
And slept in the portico of the temple where you would gladly have sheltered me,
Yet was it not your loving mindfulness of my days and my nights that made food sweet
to my mouth and girdled my sleep with visions?
For this I bless you most:
You give much and know not that you give at all.
Verily the kindness that gazes upon itself in a mirror turns to stone,
And a good deed that calls itself by tender names becomes the parent to a curse.
And some of you have called me aloof, and drunk with my own aloneness,
And you have said, "He holds council with the trees of the forest, but not with men.
He sits alone on hill-tops and looks down upon our city."
True it is that I have climbed the hills and walked in remote places.
How could I have seen you save from a great height or a great distance?
How can one be indeed near unless he be far?
And others among you called unto me, not in words, and they said,
Stranger, stranger, lover of unreachable heights, why dwell you among the summits
where eagles build their nests?
Why seek you the unattainable?
What storms would you trap in your net,
And what vaporous birds do you hunt in the sky?
Come and be one of us.
Descend and appease your hunger with our bread and quench your thirst with our
wine."
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In the solitude of their souls they said these things;
But were their solitude deeper they would have known that I sought but the secret of
your joy and your pain,
And I hunted only your larger selves that walk the sky.
But the hunter was also the hunted:
For many of my arrows left my bow only to seek my own breast.
And the flier was also the creeper;
For when my wings were spread in the sun their shadow upon the earth was a turtle.
And I the believer was also the doubter;
For often have I put my finger in my own wound that I might have the greater belief in
you and the greater knowledge of you.
And it is with this belief and this knowledge that I say,
You are not enclosed within your bodies, nor confined to houses or fields.
That which is you dwells above the mountain and roves with the wind.
It is not a thing that crawls into the sun for warmth or digs holes into darkness for
safety,
But a thing free, a spirit that envelops the earth and moves in the ether.
If this be vague words, then seek not to clear them.
Vague and nebulous is the beginning of all things, but not their end,
And I fain would have you remember me as a beginning.
Life, and all that lives, is conceived in the mist and not in the crystal.
And who knows but a crystal is mist in decay?
This would I have you remember in remembering me:
That which seems most feeble and bewildered in you is the strongest and most
determined.
Is it not your breath that has erected and hardened the structure of your bones?
And is it not a dream which none of you remember having dreamt that building your
city and fashioned all there is in it?
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Could you but see the tides of that breath you would cease to see all else,
And if you could hear the whispering of the dream you would hear no other sound.
But you do not see, nor do you hear, and it is well.
The veil that clouds your eyes shall be lifted by the hands that wove it,
And the clay that fills your ears shall be pierced by those fingers that kneaded it.
And you shall see
And you shall hear.
Yet you shall not deplore having known blindness, nor regret having been deaf.
For in that day you shall know the hidden purposes in all things,
And you shall bless darkness as you would bless light.
After saying these things he looked about him, and he saw the pilot of his ship standing
by the helm and gazing now at the full sails and now at the distance.
And he said:
Patient, over-patient, is the captain of my ship.
The wind blows, and restless are the sails;
Even the rudder begs direction;
Yet quietly my captain awaits my silence.
And these my mariners, who have heard the choir of the greater sea, they too have
heard me patiently.
Now they shall wait no longer.
I am ready.
The stream has reached the sea, and once more the great mother holds her son
against her breast.
Fare you well, people of Orphalese.
This day has ended.
It is closing upon us even as the water-lily upon its own tomorrow.
What was given us here we shall keep,
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And if it suffices not, then again must we come together and together stretch our
hands unto the giver.
Forget not that I shall come back to you.
A little while, and my longing shall gather dust and foam for another body.
A little while, a moment of rest upon the wind, and another woman shall bear me.
Farewell to you and the youth I have spent with you.
It was but yesterday we met in a dream.
You have sung to me in my aloneness, and I of your longings have built a tower in the
sky.
But now our sleep has fled and our dream is over, and it is no longer dawn.
The noontide is upon us and our half waking has turned to fuller day, and we must
part.
If in the twilight of memory we should meet once more, we shall speak again together
and you shall sing to me a deeper song.
And if our hands should meet in another dream, we shall build another tower in the
sky.
So saying he made a signal to the seamen, and straightaway they weighed anchor and
cast the ship loose from its moorings, and they moved eastward.
And a cry came from the people as from a single heart, and it rose the dusk and was
carried out over the sea like a great trumpeting.
Only Almitra was silent, gazing after the ship until it had vanished into the mist.
And when all the people were dispersed she still stood alone upon the sea-wall,
remembering in her heart his saying,
A little while, a moment of rest upon the wind, and another woman shall bear me."
Khalil Gibran
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The House of Fortune III
My wearied heart bade me farewell and left for the House of Fortune. As he reached
that holy city which the soul had blessed and worshipped, he commenced wondering,
for he could not find what he had always imagined would be there. The city was empty
of power, money, and authority.
And my heart spoke to the daughter of Love saying, "Oh Love, where can I find
Contentment? I heard that she had come here to join you."
And the daughter of Love responded, "Contentment has already gone to preach her
gospel in the city, where greed and corruption are paramount; we are not in need of
her."
Fortune craves not Contentment, for it is an earthly hope, and its desires are embraced
by union with objects, while Contentment is naught but heartfelt.
The eternal soul is never contented; it ever seeks exaltation. Then my heart looked
upon Life of Beauty and said: "Thou art all knowledge; enlighten me as to the mystery
of Woman." And he answered, "Oh human heart, woman is your own reflection, and
whatever you are, she is; wherever you live, she lives; she is like religion if not
interpreted by the ignorant, and like a moon, if not veiled with clouds, and like a
breeze, if not poisoned with impurities."
And my heart walked toward Knowledge, the daughter of Love and Beauty, and said,
"Bestow upon me wisdom, that I might share it with the people." And she responded,
"Say not wisdom, but rather fortune, for real fortune comes not from outside, but
begins in the Holy of Holies of life. Share of thyself with the people."
Khalil Gibran
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The Life of Love XVI
Spring
Come, my beloved; let us walk amidst the knolls,
For the snow is water, and Life is alive from its
Slumber and is roaming the hills and valleys.
Let us follow the footprints of Spring into the
Distant fields, and mount the hilltops to draw
Inspiration high above the cool green plains.
Dawn of Spring has unfolded her winter-kept garment
And placed it on the peach and citrus trees; and
They appear as brides in the ceremonial custom of
the Night of Kedre.
The sprigs of grapevine embrace each other like
Sweethearts, and the brooks burst out in dance
Between the rocks, repeating the song of joy;
And the flowers bud suddenly from the heart of
Nature, like foam from the rich heart of the sea.
Come, my beloved; let us drink the last of Winter's
Tears from the cupped lilies, and soothe our spirits
With the shower of notes from the birds, and wander
In exhilaration through the intoxicating breeze.
Let us sit by that rock, where violets hide; let us
Pursue their exchange of the sweetness of kisses.
Summer
Let us go into the fields, my beloved, for the
Time of harvest approaches, and the sun's eyes
Are ripening the grain.
Let us tend the fruit of the earth, as the
Spirit nourishes the grains of Joy from the
Seeds of Love, sowed deep in our hearts.
Let us fill our bins with the products of
Nature, as life fills so abundantly the
Domain of our hearts with her endless bounty.
Let us make the flowers our bed, and the
Sky our blanket, and rest our heads together
Upon pillows of soft hay.
Let us relax after the day's toil, and listen
To the provoking murmur of the brook.
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Autumn
Let us go and gather grapes in the vineyard
For the winepress, and keep the wine in old
Vases, as the spirit keeps Knowledge of the
Ages in eternal vessels.
Let us return to our dwelling, for the wind has
Caused the yellow leaves to fall and shroud the
Withering flowers that whisper elegy to Summer.
Come home, my eternal sweetheart, for the birds
Have made pilgrimage to warmth and lest the chilled
Prairies suffering pangs of solitude. The jasmine
And myrtle have no more tears.
Let us retreat, for the tired brook has
Ceased its song; and the bubblesome springs
Are drained of their copious weeping; and
Their cautious old hills have stored away
Their colorful garments.
Come, my beloved; Nature is justly weary
And is bidding her enthusiasm farewell
With quiet and contented melody.
Winter
Come close to me, oh companion of my full life;
Come close to me and let not Winter's touch
Enter between us. Sit by me before the hearth,
For fire is the only fruit of Winter.
Speak to me of the glory of your heart, for
That is greater than the shrieking elements
Beyond our door.
Bind the door and seal the transoms, for the
Angry countenance of the heaven depresses my
Spirit, and the face of our snow-laden fields
Makes my soul cry.
Feed the lamp with oil and let it not dim, and
Place it by you, so I can read with tears what
Your life with me has written upon your face.
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Bring Autumn's wine. Let us drink and sing the
Song of remembrance to Spring's carefree sowing,
And Summer's watchful tending, and Autumn's
Reward in harvest.
Come close to me, oh beloved of my soul; the
Fire is cooling and fleeing under the ashes.
Embrace me, for I fear loneliness; the lamp is
Dim, and the wine which we pressed is closing
Our eyes. Let us look upon each other before
They are shut.
Find me with your arms and embrace me; let
Slumber then embrace our souls as one.
Kiss me, my beloved, for Winter has stolen
All but our moving lips.
You are close by me, My Forever.
How deep and wide will be the ocean of Slumber,
And how recent was the dawn!
Khalil Gibran
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The Palace and the Hut XXIX
Part One
As night fell and the light glittered in the great house, the servants stood at the
massive door awaiting the coming of the guests; and upon their velvet garments
shown golden buttons.
The magnificent carriages drew into the palace park and the nobles entered, dressed in
gorgeous raiment and decorated with jewels. The instruments filled the air with
pleasant melodies while the dignitaries danced to the soothing music.
At midnight the finest and most palatable foods were served on a beautiful table
embellished with all kinds of the rarest flowers. The feasters dined and drank
abundantly, until the sequence of the wine began to play its part. At dawn the throng
dispersed boisterously, after spending a long night of intoxication and gluttony which
hurried their worn bodies into their deep beds with unnatural sleep.
Part Two
At eventide, a man attired in the dress of heavy work stood before the door of his
small house and knocked at the door. As it opened, he entered and greeted the
occupants in a cheerful manner, and then sat between his children who were playing at
the fireplace. In a short time, his wife had the meal prepared and they sat at a wooden
table consuming their food. After eating they gathered around the oil lamp and talked
of the day's events. When the early night had lapsed, all stood silently and surrendered
themselves to the King of Slumber with a song of praise and a prayer of gratitude on
their lips.
Khalil Gibran
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The Playground of Life XIX
One hour devoted to the pursuit of Beauty
And Love is worth a full century of glory
Given by the frightened weak to the strong.
From that hour comes man's Truth; and
During that century Truth sleeps between
The restless arms of disturbing dreams.
In that hour the soul sees for herself
The Natural Law, and for that century she
Imprisons herself behind the law of man;
And she is shackled with irons of oppression.
That hour was the inspiration of the Songs
Of Solomon, an that century was the blind
Power which destroyed the temple of Baalbek.
That hour was the birth of the Sermon on the
Mount, and that century wrecked the castles of
Palmyra and the Tower of Babylon.
That hour was the Hegira of Mohammed and that
Century forgot Allah, Golgotha, and Sinai.
One hour devoted to mourning and lamenting the
Stolen equality of the weak is nobler than a
Century filled with greed and usurpation.
It is at that hour when the heart is
Purified by flaming sorrow and
Illuminated by the torch of Love.
And in that century, desires for Truth
Are buried in the bosom of the earth.
That hour is the root which must flourish.
That hour of meditation, the hour of
Prayer, and the hour of a new era of good.
And that century is a life of Nero spent
On self-investment taken solely from
Earthly substance.
This is life.
Portrayed on the stage for ages;
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Recorded earthly for centuries;
Lived in strangeness for years;
Sung as a hymn for days;
Exalted but for an hour, but the
Hour is treasured by Eternity as a jewel.
Khalil Gibran
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The Poet VIII
He is a link between this and the coming world.
He is
A pure spring from which all thirsty souls may drink.
He is a tree watered by the River of Beauty, bearing
Fruit which the hungry heart craves;
He is a nightingale, soothing the depressed
Spirit with his beautiful melodies;
He is a white cloud appearing over the horizon,
Ascending and growing until it fills the face of the sky.
Then it falls on the flows in the field of Life,
Opening their petals to admit the light.
He is an angel, send by the goddess to
Preach the Deity's gospel;
He is a brilliant lamp, unconquered by darkness
And inextinguishable by the wind. It is filled with
Oil by Istar of Love, and lighted by Apollon of Music.
He is a solitary figure, robed in simplicity and
Kindness; He sits upon the lap of Nature to draw his
Inspiration, and stays up in the silence of the night,
Awaiting the descending of the spirit.
He is a sower who sows the seeds of his heart in the
Prairies of affection, and humanity reaps the
Harvest for her nourishment.
This is the poet -- whom the people ignore in this life,
And who is recognized only when he bids the earthly
World farewell and returns to his arbor in heaven.
This is the poet -- who asks naught of
Humanity but a smile.
This is the poet -- whose spirit ascends and
Fills the firmament with beautiful sayings;
Yet the people deny themselves his radiance.
Until when shall the people remain asleep?
Until when shall they continue to glorify those
Who attain greatness by moments of advantage?
How long shall they ignore those who enable
Them to see the beauty of their spirit,
Symbol of peace and love?
Until when shall human beings honor the dead
And forget the living, who spend their lives
Encircled in misery, and who consume themselves
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Like burning candles to illuminate the way
For the ignorant and lead them into the path of light?
Poet, you are the life of this life, and you have
Triumphed over the ages of despite their severity.
Poet, you will one day rule the hearts, and
Therefore, your kingdom has no ending.
Poet, examine your crown of thorns; you will
Find concealed in it a budding wreath of laurel.
Khalil Gibran
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The Widow and Her Son XXI
Night fell over North Lebanon and snow was covering the villages surrounded by the
Kadeesha Valley, giving the fields and prairies the appearance of a great sheet of
parchment upon which the furious Nature was recording her many deeds. Men came
home from the streets while silence engulfed the night.
In a lone house near those villages lived a woman who sat by her fireside spinning
wool, and at her side was her only child, staring now at the fire and then at his mother.
A terrible roar of thunder shook the house and the little boy shook with fright. He threw
his arms about his mother, seeking protection from Nature in her affection. She took
him to her bosom and kissed him; then she say him on her lap and said, "Do not fear,
my son, for Nature is but comparing her great power to man's weakness. There is a
Supreme Being beyond the falling snow and the heavy clouds and the blowing wind,
and He knows the needs of the earth, for He made it; and He looks upon the weak with
merciful eyes.
"Be brave, my boy. Nature smiles in Spring and laughs in Summer and yawns in
Autumn, but now she is weeping; and with her tears she waters life, hidden under the
earth.
"Sleep, my dear child; your father is viewing us from Eternity. The snow and thunder
bring us closer to him at this time.
"Sleep, my beloved, for this white blanket which makes us cold, keeps the seeds warm,
and these war-like things will produce beautiful flowers when Nisan comes.
"Thus, my child, man cannot reap love until after sad and revealing separation, and
bitter patience, and desperate hardship. Sleep, my little boy; sweet dreams will find
your soul who is unafraid of the terrible darkness of night and the biting frost."
The little boy looked upon his mother with sleep-laden eyes and said, "Mother, my eyes
are heavy, but I cannot go to bed without saying my prayer."
The woman looked at his angelic face, her vision blurred by misted eyes, and said,
"Repeat with me, my boy - 'God, have mercy on the poor and protect them from the
winter; warm their thin-clad bodies with Thy merciful hands; look upon the orphans
who are sleeping in wretched houses, suffering from hunger and cold. Hear, oh Lord,
the call of widows who are helpless and shivering with fear for their young. Open, oh
Lord, the hearts of all humans, that they may see the misery of the weak. Have mercy
upon the sufferers who knock on doors, and lead the wayfarers into warm places.
Watch, oh Lord, over the little birds and protect the trees and fields from the anger of
the storm; for Thou art merciful and full of love.'"
As Slumber captured the boy's spirit, his mother placed him in the bed and kissed his
eyes with quivering lips. Then she went back and sat by the hearth, spinning the wool
to make him raiment.
Khalil Gibran
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Time XXI
And an astronomer said, "Master, what of Time?"
And he answered:
You would measure time the measureless and the immeasurable.
You would adjust your conduct and even direct the course of your spirit according to
hours and seasons.
Of time you would make a stream upon whose bank you would sit and watch its
flowing.
Yet the timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness,
And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream.
And that that which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of
that first moment which scattered the stars into space.
Who among you does not feel that his power to love is boundless?
And yet who does not feel that very love, though boundless, encompassed within the
centre of his being, and moving not form love thought to love thought, nor from love
deeds to other love deeds?
And is not time even as love is, undivided and paceless?
But if in you thought you must measure time into seasons, let each season encircle all
the other seasons,
And let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing.
Khalil Gibran
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Two Infants II
A prince stood on the balcony of his palace addressing a great multitude summoned for
the occasion and said, "Let me offer you and this whole fortunate country my
congratulations upon the birth of a new prince who will carry the name of my noble
family, and of whom you will be justly proud. He is the new bearer of a great and
illustrious ancestry, and upon him depends the brilliant future of this realm. Sing and
be merry!" The voices of the throngs, full of joy and thankfulness, flooded the sky with
exhilarating song, welcoming the new tyrant who would affix the yoke of oppression to
their necks by ruling the weak with bitter authority, and exploiting their bodies and
killing their souls. For that destiny, the people were singing and drinking ecstatically to
the heady of the new Emir.
Another child entered life and that kingdom at the same time. While the crowds were
glorifying the strong and belittling themselves by singing praise to a potential despot,
and while the angels of heaven were weeping over the people's weakness and
servitude, a sick woman was thinking. She lived in an old, deserted hovel and, lying in
her hard bed beside her newly born infant wrapped with ragged swaddles, was starving
to death. She was a penurious and miserable young wife neglected by humanity; her
husband had fallen into the trap of death set by the prince's oppression, leaving a
solitary woman to whom God had sent, that night, a tiny companion to prevent her
from working and sustaining life.
As the mass dispersed and silence was restored to the vicinity, the wretched woman
placed the infant on her lap and looked into his face and wept as if she were to baptize
him with tears. And with a hunger weakened voice she spoke to the child saying, "Why
have you left the spiritual world and come to share with me the bitterness of earthly
life? Why have you deserted the angels and the spacious firmament and come to this
miserable land of humans, filled with agony, oppression, and heartlessness? I have
nothing to give you except tears; will you be nourished on tears instead of milk? I have
no silk clothes to put on you; will my naked, shivering arms give you warmth? The little
animals graze in the pasture and return safely to their shed; and the small birds pick
the seeds and sleep placidly between the branches. But you, my beloved, have naught
save a loving but destitute mother."
Then she took the infant to her withered breast and clasped her arms around him as if
wanting to join the two bodies in one, as before. She lifted her burning eyes slowly
toward heaven and cried, "God! Have mercy on my unfortunate countrymen!"
At that moment the clouds floated from the face of the moon, whose beams penetrated
the transom of that poor home and fell upon two corpses.
Khalil Gibran
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Two Wishes XI
In the silence of the night Death descended from God toward the earth. He hovered
above a city and pierced the dwellings with his eyes. He say the spirits floating on
wings of dreams, and the people who were surrendered to the Slumber.
When the moon fell below the horizon and the city became black, Death walked silently
among the houses -- careful to touch nothing -- until he reached a palace. He entered
through the bolted gates undisturbed, and stood by the rich man's bed; and as Death
touched his forehead, the sleeper's eyes opened, showing great fright.
When he saw the specter, he summoned a voice mingled with fear and anger, and
said, "God away, oh horrible dream; leave me, you dreadful ghost. Who are you? How
did you enter this place? What do you want? Leave this place at once, for I am the lord
of the house and will call my slaves and guards, and order them to kill you!"
Then Death spoke, softly but with smoldering thunder, "I am Death. Stand and bow!"
The man responded, "What do you want? What have you come here when I have not
yet finished my affairs? What see you from strength such as mine? Go to the weak
man, and take him away!
"I loathe the sight of your bloody paws and hollow face, and my eyes take sick at your
horrible ribbed winds and cadaverous body."
After a moment of fearful realization he added, "No, No, oh merciful Death! Mind not
talk, for even fear reveals what the heart forbids.
"Take a bushelful of my gold, or a handful of my slave's souls, but leave me. I have
accounts with Life requiring settling; I have due from people much gold; my ships have
not reached the harbor; my demand, but spare my life. Death, I own harems of
supernatural beauty; your choice is my gift to you. Give heed, Death -- I have but one
child, and I love him dearly for he is my only joy in this life. I offer supreme sacrifice --
take him, but spare me!"
Death murmured, "You are not rich, but pitifully poor." Then Death took the hand of
that earthly slave, removed his reality, and gave to the angels the heavy task of
correction.
And Death walked slowly amidst the dwellings of the poor until he reached the most
miserable he could find. He entered and approached a bed upon which a youth slept
fitfully. Death touched his eyes; the lad sprang up as he saw Death standing by, and,
with a voice full of love and hope he said, "Here I am, my beautiful Death. Accept my
soul, for you are the hope of my dreams. Be their accomplishment! Embrace me, oh
beloved Death! You are merciful; do not leave me. You are God's messenger; deliver
me to Him. You are the right hand of Truth and the heart of Kindness; do not neglect
me.
"I have begged for you many times, but you did not come; I have sought you, but you
avoided me; I called out to you, but you listened not. You hear me now -- embrace my
soul, beloved Death!"
Death placed his softened hand upon the trembling lips, removed all reality, and
enfolded it beneath his wings for secure conduct. And returning to the sky, Death
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looked back and whispered his warning:
"Only those return to Eternity
Who on earth seek out Eternity."
Khalil Gibran
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Vision X
There in the middle of the field, by the side of a crystalline stream, I saw a bird-cage
whose rods and hinges were fashioned by an expert's hands. In one corner lay a dead
bird, and in another were two basins -- one empty of water and the other of seeds. I
stood there reverently, as if the lifeless bird and the murmur of the water were worthy
of deep silence and respect -- something worth of examination and meditation by the
heard and conscience.
As I engrossed myself in view and thought, I found that the poor creature had died of
thirst beside a stream of water, and of hunger in the midst of a rich field, cradle of life;
like a rich man locked inside his iron safe, perishing from hunger amid heaps of gold.
Before my eyes I saw the cage turned suddenly into a human skeleton, and the dead
bird into a man's heart which was bleeding from a deep wound that looked like the lips
of a sorrowing woman. A voice came from that wound saying, "I am the human heart,
prisoner of substance and victim of earthly laws.
"In God's field of Beauty, at the edge of the stream of life, I was imprisoned in the cage
of laws made by man.
"In the center of beautiful Creation I died neglected because I was kept from enjoying
the freedom of God's bounty.
"Everything of beauty that awakens my love and desire is a disgrace, according to
man's conceptions; everything of goodness that I crave is but naught, according to his
judgment.
"I am the lost human heart, imprisoned in the foul dungeon of man's dictates, tied with
chains of earthly authority, dead and forgotten by laughing humanity whose tongue is
tied and whose eyes are empty of visible tears."
All these words I heard, and I saw them emerging with a stream of ever thinning blood
from that wounded heart.
More was said, but my misted eyes and crying should prevented further sight or
hearing.
Khalil Gibran
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Work chapter VII
Then a ploughman said, "Speak to us of Work."
And he answered, saying:
You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.
For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life's
procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.
When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns
to music.
Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?
Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune.
But I say to you that when you work you fulfil a part of earth's furthest dream,
assigned to you when that dream was born,
And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life,
And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life's inmost secret.
But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support of the flesh a curse
written upon your brow, then I answer that naught but the sweat of your brow shall
wash away that which is written.
You have been told also life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said
by the weary.
And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,
And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,
And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,
And all work is empty save when there is love;
And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to
God.
And what is it to work with love?
It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved
were to wear that cloth.
It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that
house.
It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your
beloved were to eat the fruit.
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It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,
And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.
Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, "he who works in marble, and finds
the shape of his own soul in the stone, is a nobler than he who ploughs the soil.
And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness of man, is more than
he who makes the sandals for our feet."
But I say, not in sleep but in the over-wakefulness of noontide, that the wind speaks
not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass;
And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his
own loving.
Work is love made visible.
And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should
leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work
with joy.
For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half
man's hunger.
And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distills a poison in the wine.
And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man's ears to
the voices of the day and the voices of the night.
Khalil Gibran
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Yesterday and Today XII
The gold-hoarder walked in his palace park and with him walked his troubles. And over
his head hovered worries as a vulture hovers over a carcass, until he reached a
beautiful lake surrounded by magnificent marble statuary.
He sat there pondering the water which poured from the mouths of the statues like
thoughts flowing freely from a lover's imagination, and contemplating heavily his
palace which stood upon a knoll like a birth-mark upon the cheek of a maiden. His
fancy revealed to him the pages of his life's drama which he read with falling tears that
veiled his eyes and prevented him from viewing man's feeble additions to Nature.
He looked back with piercing regret to the images of his early life, woven into pattern
by the gods, until he could no longer control his anguish. He said aloud, "Yesterday I
was grazing my sheep in the green valley, enjoying my existence, sounding my flute,
and holding my head high. Today I am a prisoner of greed. Gold leads into gold, then
into restlessness and finally into crushing misery.
"Yesterday I was like a singing bird, soaring freely here and there in the fields. Today I
am a slave to fickle wealth, society's rules, and city's customs, and purchased friends,
pleasing the people by conforming to the strange and narrow laws of man. I was born
to be free and enjoy the bounty of life, but I find myself like a beast of burden so
heavily laden with gold that his back is breaking.
"Where are the spacious plains, the singing brooks, the pure breeze, the closeness of
Nature? Where is my deity? I have lost all! Naught remains save loneliness that
saddens me, gold that ridicules me, slaves who curse to my back, and a palace that I
have erected as a tomb for my happiness, and in whose greatness I have lost my
heart.
"Yesterday I roamed the prairies and the hills together with the Bedouin's daughter;
Virtue was our companion, Love our delight, and the moon our guardian. Today I am
among women with shallow beauty who sell themselves for gold and diamonds.
"Yesterday I was carefree, sharing with the shepherds all the joy of life; eating,
playing, working, singing, and dancing together to the music of the heart's truth. Today
I find myself among the people like a frightened lamb among the wolves. As I walk in
the roads, they gaze at me with hateful eyes and point at me with scorn and jealousy,
and as I steal through the park I see frowning faces all about me.
"Yesterday I was rich in happiness and today I am poor in gold.
"Yesterday I was a happy shepherd looking upon his head as a merciful king looks with
pleasure upon his contented subjects. Today I am a slave standing before my wealth,
my wealth which robbed me of the beauty of life I once knew.
"Forgive me, my Judge! I did not know that riches would put my life in fragments and
lead me into the dungeons of harshness and stupidity. What I thought was glory is
naught but an eternal inferno."
He gathered himself wearily and walked slowly toward the palace, sighing and
repeating, "Is this what people call wealth? Is this the god I am serving and
worshipping? Is this what I seek of the earth? Why can I not trade it for one particle of
contentment? Who would sell me one beautiful thought for a ton of gold? Who would
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give me one moment of love for a handful of gems? Who would grant me an eye that
can see others' hearts, and take all my coffers in barter?"
As he reached the palace gates he turned and looked toward the city as Jeremiah
gazed toward Jerusalem. He raised his arms in woeful lament and shouted, "Oh people
of the noisome city, who are living in darkness, hastening toward misery, preaching
falsehood, and speaking with stupidity...until when shall you remain ignorant? Unit
when shall you abide in the filth of life and continue to desert its gardens? Why wear
you tattered robes of narrowness while the silk raiment of Nature's beauty is fashioned
for you? The lamp of wisdom is dimming; it is time to furnish it with oil. The house of
true fortune is being destroyed; it is time to rebuild it and guard it. The thieves of
ignorance have stolen the treasure of your peace; it is time to retake it!"
At that moment a poor man stood before him and stretched forth his hand for alms. As
he looked at the beggar, his lips parted, his eyes brightened with a softness, and his
face radiated kindness. It was as if the yesterday he had lamented by the lake had
come to greet him. He embraced the pauper with affection and filled his hands with
gold, and with a voice sincere with the sweetness of love he said, "Come back
tomorrow and bring with you your fellow sufferers. All your possessions will be
restored."
He entered his palace saying, "Everything in life is good; even gold, for it teaches a
lesson. Money is like a stringed instrument; he who does not know how to use it
properly will hear only discordant music. Money is like love; it kills slowly and painfully
the one who withholds it, and it enlivens the other who turns it upon his fellow man."
Khalil Gibran
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Contributors
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September
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Saturday, September 26, 2009
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