A Poet's Revelations to the Modern World
By Yatika Singh Thursday, Jun 04, 2020
"Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls."
-Khalil Gibran
Generational longing of the soul is captured by the muses of the Prophet. His Lebanese descent blesses him with the use of flowy Arabic, as he dictates what lies before us and what governs it. Khalil Gibran's insightful "wisdom literature" talks about love and its pangs, life and its longing for itself, the soul and what unites it with itself, and other revelations of such philosophy. Gibran's writings reveal the bliss of life and it's intricacies. Relationships of romance, of the child and parent, and of the self are popular themes in his work which still remain relevant in today's chaotic attachments. From his 1912 collection, 'The Prophet', he says with noble realisation, "Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself." The eternally frank truth of these lines remain true even today. Speaking of infatuation he says, "Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; For love is sufficient unto love." Labels of 'philosopher' had often be slapped on Gibran, however he refused to accept the title.
Having received his primary education in Beirut, Gibran immigrated with his parents to Boston in 1895. He returned to Lebanon in 1898 and studied in Beirut, where he excelled in the Arabic language. On his return to Boston in 1903, he published his first literary essays; in 1907 he met Mary Haskell, who was to be his benefactor all his life and who made it possible for him to study art in Paris. In 1912 Gibran settled in New York City and devoted himself to writing literary essays and short stories, both in Arabic and in English, and to painting. Gibran’s literary and artistic output is highly romantic and flowery in nature and was influenced by the Bible, Friedrich Nietzsche, and William Blake. His bestselling collection The Prophet has 26 prose poems, circling life, death, work and everything in between. They are narrated by an exiled poet who is to set sail for his motherland after 12 years. These poems still remain as revelations to the day because of their significance to life and insight into it, and their appeal to the masses, making Khalil Gibran the third most popular poet of all time. He has been quoted by famous people including Indira Gandhi, The Beatles and John F. Kennedy, and even at numerous weddings, funerals and political speeches. A brilliantly illustrated animated film based on The Prophet can be viewed on the streaming service Netflix by the same name, and is recommended for those who would want to feel the perennial classic that will bring his words home to the soul.
-Yatika Singh
AII B