But as we walked, we saw a man sitting on a grey rock taking pinches
of salt from a bag and throwing them into the sea.
of salt from a bag and throwing them into the sea.
Khalil Gibran - Poems
"
"Nay, thou art not like me, O, Madman, for thy soul is wrapped in
the veil of seven folds and thou holdest not thy heart in thine
hand. "
"I am like thee, O, Night, patient and passionate; for in my breast
a thousand dead lovers are buried in shrouds of withered kisses. "
"Yea, Madman, art thou like me? Art thou like me? And canst thou
ride the tempest as a steed, and grasp the lightning as a sword? "
"Like thee, O, Night, like thee, mighty and high, and my throne is
built upon heaps of fallen Gods; and before me too pass the days
to kiss the hem of my garment but never to gaze at my face. "
"Art thou like me, child of my darkest heart? And dost thou think
my untamed thoughts and speak my vast language? "
"Yea, we are twin brothers, O, Night; for thou revealest space and
I reveal my soul. "
Faces
I have seen a face with a thousand countenances, and a face that
was but a single countenance as if held in a mould.
I have seen a face whose sheen I could look through to the ugliness
beneath, and a face whose sheen I had to lift to see how beautiful
it was.
I have seen an old face much lined with nothing, and a smooth face
in which all things were graven.
I know faces, because I look through the fabric my own eye weaves,
and behold the reality beneath.
The Greater Sea
My soul and I went to the great sea to bathe. And when we reached
the shore, we went about looking for a hidden and lonely place.
But as we walked, we saw a man sitting on a grey rock taking pinches
of salt from a bag and throwing them into the sea.
"This is the pessimist," said my soul, "Let us leave this place.
We cannot bathe here. "
We walked on until we reached an inlet. There we saw, standing
on a white rock, a man holding a bejeweled box, from which he took
sugar and threw it into the sea.
"And this is the optimist," said my soul, "And he too must not see
our naked bodies. "
Further on we walked. And on a beach we saw a man picking up dead
fish and tenderly putting them back into the water.
"And we cannot bathe before him," said my soul. "He is the humane
philanthropist. "
And we passed on.
Then we came where we saw a man tracing his shadow on the sand.
Great waves came and erased it. But he went on tracing it again
and again.
"He is the mystic," said my soul, "Let us leave him. "
And we walked on, till in a quiet cover we saw a man scooping up
the foam and putting it into an alabaster bowl.
"Nay, thou art not like me, O, Madman, for thy soul is wrapped in
the veil of seven folds and thou holdest not thy heart in thine
hand. "
"I am like thee, O, Night, patient and passionate; for in my breast
a thousand dead lovers are buried in shrouds of withered kisses. "
"Yea, Madman, art thou like me? Art thou like me? And canst thou
ride the tempest as a steed, and grasp the lightning as a sword? "
"Like thee, O, Night, like thee, mighty and high, and my throne is
built upon heaps of fallen Gods; and before me too pass the days
to kiss the hem of my garment but never to gaze at my face. "
"Art thou like me, child of my darkest heart? And dost thou think
my untamed thoughts and speak my vast language? "
"Yea, we are twin brothers, O, Night; for thou revealest space and
I reveal my soul. "
Faces
I have seen a face with a thousand countenances, and a face that
was but a single countenance as if held in a mould.
I have seen a face whose sheen I could look through to the ugliness
beneath, and a face whose sheen I had to lift to see how beautiful
it was.
I have seen an old face much lined with nothing, and a smooth face
in which all things were graven.
I know faces, because I look through the fabric my own eye weaves,
and behold the reality beneath.
The Greater Sea
My soul and I went to the great sea to bathe. And when we reached
the shore, we went about looking for a hidden and lonely place.
But as we walked, we saw a man sitting on a grey rock taking pinches
of salt from a bag and throwing them into the sea.
"This is the pessimist," said my soul, "Let us leave this place.
We cannot bathe here. "
We walked on until we reached an inlet. There we saw, standing
on a white rock, a man holding a bejeweled box, from which he took
sugar and threw it into the sea.
"And this is the optimist," said my soul, "And he too must not see
our naked bodies. "
Further on we walked. And on a beach we saw a man picking up dead
fish and tenderly putting them back into the water.
"And we cannot bathe before him," said my soul. "He is the humane
philanthropist. "
And we passed on.
Then we came where we saw a man tracing his shadow on the sand.
Great waves came and erased it. But he went on tracing it again
and again.
"He is the mystic," said my soul, "Let us leave him. "
And we walked on, till in a quiet cover we saw a man scooping up
the foam and putting it into an alabaster bowl.
