Poetry Friday is being hosted today by AmoXcalli  ~ if you'd like to check it out.  Here is my selection for the day ~ one of my favorites ~ by Kahlil Gibran.

Kahlil Gibran ~ '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.

Comments

[Gina]

This is so beautiful and also one of my favorites. Thank you so much for sharing it today and reminding me of how much I love Gibran.

[cloudscome]

Lovely reminder. Thank you.

[Alkelda the Gleeful]

Sweet Honey in the Rock set this poem to music, and it's one of my favorites.

[janetleigh]

I can't begin to tell you how apropos this piece on Children by Gibran is to my life at this very moment. The Prophet is probably the one book that's most important to me besides the Bible (which comes first). Gibran is the reason I write today. Or rather, write at all. Thank you for posting this today. It's just what I need to bring peace into my heart. Suffice to say that my "arrow" has pierced my heart recently, and it hurts like heck.
BTW, you have a beautiful site. I shall return. :)