Canticles of the Unhomed

These are the words of Kahlil Gibran:

Then said Almitra, "Speak to us of Love."
And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said:
When love beckons to you follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.
All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.
But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.
When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, I am in the heart of God."
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

Matt, the way you've strung together cliches and mixed metaphors makes me think of that computer program that was developed recently to generate thesis papers good enough to get accepted to science conventions.

I vaguely sense your intended expression of feeling, I think. But the communicated feeling is not one of love, rather one of being lost at sea: metaphorical words whose relevance has gone overboard and whose definitions are adrift. You write in the style of a psalmist, but you add in so many arbitrary symbols that no singular cohesive idea remains. Although there is such a thing as unity in diversity, this isn't it.

Sounds mean I know. You have published it to be read in a forum that invites opinionated comment, after all. And I will be back to read some more.

Hmmm... thanks Rob, but as flattering as it is, I did not write this. Kahlil Gibran wrote it in 1923. But thanks for thinking that I could produce this. Personally, I love Gibran's poetry. There is a profundity and a hopefulness in his writing that I think is sorely lacking in most angst-driven post modern work.

The timestamp at the bottom of the post says "written by Matt" so it seems that I am ignorant on two levels (minimum). My bad.

There's no way to recover my self-esteem so it won't matter if I state that my opinion of the poem stands regardless. I find it to be pretentious and I think the poetics are copycat wisdom lit. And comparing it to post-modern work doesn't do it any favours. I just realized what it is most like: contemporary 'worship' choruses.

Beyond that, I like reading your comments and posts. I'm glad you've got a site I can check out. Don't mind the critical comments, eh. I refuse to provide gratuitous encouragement, although I do want you and y'all to be encouraged.

Sincerely.

That't the funniest thing I have read in two days. (Ahh, the comments, not the poem) Lol!

pax