100 years ago this year Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet was published. A beloved manuscript of verses, it has sold millions of copies and been translated into countless languages.I read my copy often. My favorites verses are:
On marriage:
“Give your hearts, but not into each
other’s keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain
your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near
together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow
not in each other’s shadow.”
And on children.:
“Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.”
100 years. And as relevant and as beautiful today.