On Children by Khalil Gibran
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
On Children
by Khalil Gibran 1
And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, Speak to us of Children.
And he said:
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.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.
1
From The Prophet (Knopf, 1923). This poem is in the public domain.
I first read this Gibran poem as a teen, decades ago. It's truth and veracity resonate just as loudly now that I'm 66 and have a near adult grandchild. Generation upon generation, we either stiffen our bows or allow them more flexibility, sending arrows to find their true path. Great share.
I almost didn't stop to read this. I thought to myself, "Oh, that is one of my favorites! But I already know it."
And then I wondered where I was in a hurry to be, what thing I needed to do that was more important than re-reading a poem that I know that I love.
And so here I am. Re-reading, then re-reading again.