My love affair with the work of Gibran began when I was 15, working as a clerk in a sporting goods store. A friend of mine, who worked there in theory only, gave me a copy of this book as a symbol of a friendship that would later blossom into nothing short of brotherhood. This review is both a testament to The Prophet and a backhanded way of thanking my friend, my brother, the way I should have so many years ago.




         In 1883, Kahlil Gibran was born in Lebanon, a land renowned for the production of prophecy. It wasn't until 1911 that Gibran started composing in the English language, and, in 1923, The Prophet was born. I had always held the belief that English was incapable of true beauty, that pure linguistic majesty was reserved for tongues I had never heard, that had never been spoken upon our shores. The Prophet rejuvenated my love and appreciation of the written word in a manner I can best define as sublime.




         Though degreed in the study of literature and a teacher of the same for nearly a decade, I feel that I am, in no way, amply equipped to bespeak the many merits of The Prophet beyond the simple fact that this book makes my heart sing.




         Within The Prophet, Kahlil skirts no issue. Rather, he smashes into life like a train.




         But there is no wreckage.




         The collision leaves life festooned with beauty, smiles, thought, and tears. It leaves life looking at itself wondering how it had gotten on so far without Gibran and why it hadn't found him sooner.




         The range of topics covered within this glorious tome includes: Love, Marriage, Children, Eating, Houses, Buying and Selling, Freedom, Pain, Teaching, and Time to name half of them. What Gibran has assembled is nothing less than a primer of how to lead a righteous life, a life replete with appreciation and love and understanding.




         It is a prescription for what ails us, and one easily filled, should we do little more than wish to heal ourselves.




         I hope that I did not make Gibran's work sound didactic, for it only teaches what we are prepared to learn about ourselves. The poetry is unpolluted godsend; amorphous. It fits any lifestyle, any need, no matter what the scale.




         The sections entitled "On Love" and "On Marriage" are rivals in the battle for my affections. Within these sections, Almitra, one of the throng which surrounds "the prophet," questions him on the meaning of such ideas.




         On marriage, the prophet answers:




"You were born together, and together you shall be forever more.


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..." (The Prophet, p. 15)




         From this point, Gibran's poetry flows grandly, serenely, like the crystal waters of lake, far removed from the filthy hands of man.




"Love one another, but make not a bond of love:


Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls...




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." (The Prophet, p. 15-16)




         The prophecy Gibran brings is not one of divination or deliverance. It is neither pedantic nor proselytizing. It is a message born of love for the common man and woman. It is the prophet who delivers reverence for mankind and demands it not from him.




         On the concept of giving, Gibran writes:




"And you receivers...assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.


Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings..." (The Prophet, p. 22)




         With that advice, let us take what Gibran offers and swallow it greedily. Let his poetry buoy you, carry you upon the wings of his gift, and let gratitude be eclipsed by appreciation and mindfulness of the bounty of a talented mind that asks nothing in return.




         Find this book. Buy a copy for your friend, wife, neighbor, or student. It is shared experiences that makes mankind a family and The Prophet sits at the head of the table.

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Created May 02, 2002 at 10:16pm • Submit your own review...