Then Almitra spoke again and said, 'And what of Marriage, master? '
And he answered saying:
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.
Well articuated and nicely brought forth with conviction. An insightful piece of poetry
Love eachc other but give each other space.so true, good marriage advice.
I regret that Gibran wrote at a time when poetry was being redefined so as to eliminate him from consideration, and in a country that was leading the way into an academic elitism among poets and critics. The New Critics, who grew up among Southern fundamentalists and in the shadow of scriptural poetry and rhetoric, recalled the exegesis and displayed in the their close reading of poems, but they lost the biblical rhythms and the psalmic forms of genuine poetry. Gibran should be respected, indeed honored, for what he did, as Rumi and Hafiz and Rabindranath Tagore are - not expected to conform to another, totally different (and ultimately provincial) definition of poetry. This poem, from The Prophet, is in my opinion one of the best examples of his artistry.
......definitely this write should be posted in every marriage counselor's office....amazing....
And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow. The secret to relationships.
i read this poem and commented before, now iam not sure who is the one posting Gibran poems but i love to see it here...