On Death
Kahlil Gibran
You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.xo
a wise old owl sat on an oak,
the more he saw, the less he spoke..
The less he spoke, the more he heard..
I wish I was like, that wise old bird..
I love this post Blue..and thank you for your sweet wishes and blessings!
peace kai
Posted by: kai | September 15, 2009 at 09:54 AM
Beautiful tribute to a beautiful man. I called my 27 yr old happily married daughter, whose favorite movie is "Dirty Dancing," and asked her if she had heard the news. Her reply? "OMG! MOM! I was going to marry him!!" It was as if she were 5 yrs old all over again.
Posted by: MiddleAgedWomanBlogging | September 15, 2009 at 10:15 AM
Beautiful,
Thank you for sharing this Gillian!
I keep the beating the drum,
for the dance of life!
xox
Constance
Posted by: Rochambeau | September 15, 2009 at 11:17 AM
Wow, SO powerful!!!
Posted by: Andi | September 15, 2009 at 05:10 PM
Wow, so powerful!!!
Posted by: Andi | September 15, 2009 at 05:10 PM
A beautiful tribute. A beautiful tribute, indeed.
xoxo
Posted by: christina | September 15, 2009 at 11:02 PM
As others have said, this is a beautiful tribute. I have always loved this passage from Gibran, and I'm glad to be reminded of its power and beauty. xo Gigi
Posted by: Gigi | September 16, 2009 at 08:51 AM
Gillian, this is lovely, I'm so glad I popped over today.
xo Kath
Posted by: Kath | September 16, 2009 at 12:46 PM
This is a wonderful tribute to a wonderful man my friend,
Much love and light to you and yours,
M
Posted by: Maithri | September 16, 2009 at 12:47 PM
Death is so personal to everyone...
so different....
there is also so many ironies
happiness cause they are not in pain anymore, but sad, cause they died
relieve because they are in heaven, sad because they are not here on earth with you
thankful that the pain is spared for them, angry cause you feel the pain
i don't know how anybody get through death without faith...for me knowing where they are/went is magical! Don't we all live our lives now to one day go to heaven?
just looking at death on it's own...
speechless...
it sucks xx
breathing out...it sounds so negative...and in the light of Patrick and your tribute...this beautiful poem is beautiful...
i would think that this beautiful poem is not just for him...but in honor of everybody else...in need of these words xx
Posted by: linni | September 16, 2009 at 03:56 PM
Indigo Lady, do you remember me? I was away for long and I so missed reading here. I also missed you. Feels good to see such warm sunny colors and to read pretty words again, yours. :D
Posted by: The Lady Prism | September 17, 2009 at 02:34 AM
These words shake me to the core... Dancing in thanks for this beautiful post, Gillian ((HUGS))
Posted by: Tracy | September 17, 2009 at 05:36 AM
"And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered? "
love this line.
Posted by: shelagh | September 20, 2009 at 06:49 AM