The poetry of Khalil Gibran is a timeless blend of spirituality, love, and philosophical insight that continues to inspire readers across the world. Known for his deeply emotional and symbolic writing style, Gibran explores universal themes such as human connection, freedom, sorrow, and the beauty of nature. His most famous work, The Prophet, is a collection of poetic essays that offer profound wisdom on life’s most essential aspects.
Gibran’s poems are simple yet powerful, often carrying messages that touch the soul and provoke deep reflection. His unique ability to merge Eastern mysticism with Western literary style makes his work stand out in world literature. Whether speaking about love, loss, or personal growth, his words feel both personal and universal—making his poetry perfect for readers seeking meaning, peace, and inspiration.
On Children
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.
Ambition
Three men met at a tavern table. One was a weaver, another a
carpenter and the third a ploughman.
Said the weaver, “I sold a fine linen shroud today for two pieces
of gold. Let us have all the wine we want.”
“And I,” said the carpenter, “I sold my best coffin. We will have
a great roast with the wine.”
“I only dug a grave,” said the ploughman, “but my patron paid me
double. Let us have honey cakes too.”
And all that evening the tavern was busy, for they called often
for wine and meat and cakes. And they were merry.
And the host rubbed his hands and smiled at his wife; for his guests
were spending freely.
When they left the moon was high, and they walked along the road
singing and shouting together.
The host and his wife stood in the tavern door and looked after
them.
“Ah!” said the wife, “these gentlemen! So freehanded and so gay!
If only they could bring us such luck every day! Then our son need
not be a tavern-keeper and work so hard. We could educate him,
and he could become a priest.”
God
In the ancient days, when the first quiver of speech came to my lips,
I ascended the holy mountain and spoke unto God, saying, “Master,
I am thy slave. Thy hidden will is my law and I shall obey thee
for ever more.”
But God made no answer, and like a mighty tempest passed away.
And after a thousand years I ascended the holy mountain and again
spoke unto God, saying, “Creator, I am thy creation. Out of clay
hast thou fashioned me and to thee I owe mine all.”
And God made no answer, but like a thousand swift wings passed
away.
And after a thousand years I climbed the holy mountain and spoke
unto God again, saying, “Father, I am thy son. In pity and love
thou hast given me birth, and through love and worship I shall
inherit thy kingdom.”
And God made no answer, and like the mist that veils the distant
hills he passed away.
And after a thousand years I climbed the sacred mountain and again
spoke unto God, saying, “My God, my aim and my fulfillment; I am
thy yesterday and thou are my tomorrow. I am thy root in the earth
and thou art my flower in the sky, and together we grow before the
face of the sun.”
Then God leaned over me, and in my ears whispered words of sweetness,
and even as the sea that enfoldeth a brook that runneth down to
her, he enfolded me.
And when I descended to the valleys and the plains God was there
also.
The Fox
A fox looked at his shadow at sunrise and said, “I will have
a camel for lunch today.” And all morning he went about looking
for camels. But at noon he saw his shadow again—and he said, “A
mouse will do.”
The Good God and the Evil God
The Good God and the Evil God met on the mountain top.
The Good God said, “Good day to you, brother.”
The Evil God did not answer.
And the Good God said, “You are in a bad humour today.”
“Yes,” said the Evil God, “for of late I have been often mistaken for you, called by your name, and treated as if I were you, and it ill-pleases me.”
And the Good God said, “But I too have been mistaken for you and called by your name.”
The Evil God walked away cursing the stupidity of man.
My Friend
My friend, I am not what I seem. Seeming is but a garment I wear—a
care-woven garment that protects me from thy questionings and thee
from my negligence.
The “I” in me, my friend, dwells in the house of silence, and
therein it shall remain for ever more, unperceived, unapproachable.
I would not have thee believe in what I say nor trust in what I
do—for my words are naught but thy own thoughts in sound and my
deeds thy own hopes in action.
When thou sayest, “The wind bloweth eastward,” I say, “Aye it doth
blow eastward”; for I would not have thee know that my mind doth
not dwell upon the wind but upon the sea.
Thou canst not understand my seafaring thoughts, nor would I have
thee understand. I would be at sea alone.
When it is day with thee, my friend, it is night with me; yet even
then I speak of the noontide that dances upon the hills and of
the purple shadow that steals its way across the valley; for thou
canst not hear the songs of my darkness nor see my wings beating
against the stars—and I fain would not have thee hear or see. I
would be with night alone.
When thou ascendest to thy Heaven I descend to my Hell—even then
thou callest to me across the unbridgeable gulf, “My companion, my
comrade,” and I call back to thee, “My comrade, my companion”—for
I would not have thee see my Hell. The flame would burn thy eyesight
and the smoke would crowd thy nostrils. And I love my Hell too
well to have thee visit it. I would be in Hell alone.
Thou lovest Truth and Beauty and Righteousness; and I for thy sake
say it is well and seemly to love these things. But in my heart
I laught at thy love. Yet I would not have thee see my laughter.
I would laugh alone.
My friend, thou art good and cautious and wise; nay, thou art
perfect—and I, too, speak with thee wisely and cautiously. And
yet I am mad. But I mask my madness. I would be mad alone.
My friend, thou art not my friend, but how shall I make thee
understand? My path is not thy path, yet together we walk, hand
in hand.
On Laws
Then a lawyer said, But what of our Laws,
master?
And he answered:
You delight in laying down laws,
Yet you delight more in breaking them.
Like children playing by the ocean who
build sand-towers with constancy and then
destroy them with laughter.
But while you build your sand-towers the
ocean brings more sand to the shore,
And when you destroy them the ocean
laughs with you.
Verily the ocean laughs always with the
innocent.
But what of those to whom life is not an
ocean, and man-made laws are not sand-
towers,
But to whom life is a rock, and the law
a chisel with which they would carve it in
their own likeness?
What of the cripple who hates dancers?
What of the ox who loves his yoke and
deems the elk and deer of the forest
stray and vagrant things?
What of the old serpent who cannot
shed his skin, and calls all others naked
and shameless?
And of him who comes early to the
wedding-feast, and when over-fed and tired
goes his way saying that all feasts are
violation and all feasters lawbreakers?
What shall I say of these save that they
too stand in the sunlight, but with their
backs to the sun?
They see only their shadows, and their
shadows are their laws.
And what is the sun to them but a caster
of shadows?
And what is it to acknowledge the laws
but to stoop down and trace their shadows
upon the earth?
But you who walk facing the sun, what
images drawn on the earth can hold you?
You who travel with the wind, what
weather-vane shall direct your course?
What man’s law shall bind you if you
break your yoke but upon no man's prison
door?
What laws shall you fear if you dance
but stumble against no man’s iron chains?
And who is he that shall bring you to
judgment if you tear off your garment yet
leave it in no man’s path?
People of Orphalese, you can muffle the
drum, and you can loosen the strings of the
lyre, but who shall command the skylark
not to sing?
On Teaching
Then said a teacher, Speak to us of Teach-
ing.
And he said:
No man can reveal to you aught but that
which already lies half asleep in the dawn-
ing of your knowledge.
The teacher who walks in the shadow of
the temple, among his followers, gives not
of his wisdom but rather of his faith and
his lovingness.
If he is indeed wise he does not bid you
enter the house of his wisdom, but rather
leads you to the threshold of your own
mind.
The astronomer may speak to you of his
understanding of space, but he cannot give
you his understanding.
The musician may sing to you of the
rhythm which is in all space, but he cannot
give you the ear which arrests the rhythm
nor the voice that echoes it.
And he who is versed in the science of
numbers can tell of the regions of weight
and measure, but he cannot conduct you
thither.
For the vision of one man lends not its
wings to another man.
And even as each one of you stands alone
in God’s knowledge, so must each one of
you be alone in his knowledge of God and
in his understanding of the earth.
In conclusion, the poetry of Khalil Gibran remains a powerful source of inspiration for readers across generations. His ability to express deep emotions through simple yet meaningful words makes his work truly timeless. Through masterpieces like The Prophet, he offers wisdom on love, life, and human connection that still feels relevant today. Gibran’s poems gently guide readers toward self-discovery, inner peace, and a deeper understanding of the soul. His legacy lives on through words that continue to touch hearts and inspire minds around the world.
