On Marriage by Kahlil Gibran

What a way to say it !

On Marriage
 Kahlil Gibran

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, 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.

Reasons unknown

I go deep into the forest

to find the flowers that grow on the edge of the mountain

where the water falls into the emptiness below

I weave a garland for you

I carry it in a bag tied close to my heart and come to you

You ask "Why ?"

I go to the lake and sit quietly

Look at the waves talking to the rocks

whispers all over the place

You come wandering and sit by my side

I see the sky and your smile

I write a sonnet and offer it to you

You take it and ask "Why ?"

Late in the night you are making your bed

Engrossed in other chores that are trivial but yet need attention

I am sitting in my garden watching the stars

with the sounds of crickets and frogs giving music to the night

And I look to the heaven's above and ask "Why not ?"

Starting poetry

My latest discovery : Rabindranath Tagore !
I can't believe I haven't read any of his works so far, apart from those that were not in my school text books - none of which I remember now. I was going through a shelf of books at my home when I saw this particular one : "Lover's gift and Crossing". The first two poems were enough to glue me and a couple of pages later I was amazed at what I was reading. I'll be reading many more of his works, that's for sure. Here's one from Lover's gift :

      I dreamt that she sat by my head, tenderly ruffling my hair with her fingers, playing the melody of her touch. I looked at her face and struggled with my tears, till the agony of unspoken words burst my sleep like a bubble. 

      I sat up and saw the glow of the Milky Way above my window, like a world of silence on fire, and I wondered if at this moment she had a dream that rhymed with mine.


I've just started reading poetry. To be honest, I never quite understood poetry. The only poem I ever liked was by Robert Frost, "And miles to go before I sleep", which was pasted on of my uncle's almirah. As for the rest, I didn't understand why they are so famous. I heard about this one "O Captain my Captain" by Walt Whitman and I can't appreciate it as much as the other poetry lovers. I gave up reading poetry long ago, until I found Tagore. After Tagore, I'd love to read John Keats (my aunt loves his work, have to see if I like it too) and hopefully I'd be able to understand some.