day after day
I kneel
at the feet
of three year olds
tying shoes
wiping noses
drying tears
and listening to stories about
new bracelets
playing basketball
mean dogs
birthday parties
cooking with daddy
I stare
into the eyes
of the future
and stand up changed
–lunar euphoria
————
On Children
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.
— Kahlil Gibran
5 comments
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August 31, 2014 at 12:33 pm
Kathy
Bless the children and bless you, too, Lunar.
October 13, 2014 at 7:38 pm
Lunar Euphoria
Thank you Kathy. 🙂
October 15, 2014 at 1:20 am
Dana
I missed this before. What a nice, refreshing perspective on children– from both poems!
January 2, 2015 at 9:22 am
Lunar Euphoria
Gilbran’s poem is really wonderful. I once heard it sung by a gospel choir, which somehow made it even more beautiful.
September 3, 2023 at 10:07 pm
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