When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions
May wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as
The north wind lays waste the garden,
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you.
Even as he is for your growth so is he for pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses
Your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them
In their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked .
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you whiteness.
He kneads you until you are plaints;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that
You may become sacred bread for God’s sacred feast.
All these things shall love do unto you that you
May know the secrets of your heart, and in that
Knowledge become a fragment of Life’s heart.
But if in your fear you would seek only love’s
Peace and love’s pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your
Nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh,
But not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.
When you love you should not say,’God
is in my heart,’ but rather, “I am in heart of God.”
And think not you can direct the course of love,
For love , if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires,
let these be your desires:
to melt and like a running brook that sings
its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding
Of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart
and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s
Ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved
In your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.
From: The Prophet-Khalil Gibran
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
| < Prev |
|---|
