Jan.21.2007
Tribute to Kahlil Gibran
For what is it to die but to stand naked
in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to
free the breath from its restless tides, that
it may rise and expand and seek God unen-
cumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of
silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the moun-
tain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your
limbs, then shall you truly dance.
Your pain is the breaking of the shell
that encloses your understanding.
Evan as the stone of the fruit must break,
that its heart may stand in the sun, so must
you know pain.
And could you keep your heart in wonder
at the daily miracles of your life, your pain
would not seem less wondrous than your joy;
And you would accept the seasons of your
heart, even as you have always accepted
the seasons that pass over your fields.
And you would watch with serenity
through the winters of your grief.
The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of
countless petals.