Iphigene here.
For the next two months GB will be featuring literature related to China and the Middle East. Since I am neither Chinese (well, my grandfather was) nor Middle Eastern, I won’t be posting any originals today. I decided to feature one of the earlier styles of poetry I was exposed to.
I remember seeing The Prophet in our family’s book shelf growing up. I remember picking it up, it was musty and old. I remember turning the pages and was quite unsure what to make of it. Fast forward to present and I find myself often going back to Kahlil Gibran’s poetry.
Gibran was a Lebanese-American poet and artist. His poetry is known for the use of formal language and spiritual terms. His most popular work, The Prophet, reads like a lecture or has the echoes of some books in the Old Testament Bible. Today, I share a poem that is close to me, a message that encompasses my own belief as a developmental psychologist.
For more poetry, head out to Random Noodling, today’s Poetry Friday Host.
Gathering Books 
“Life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday”. Beautiful.
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Hi Sally. I remember the first time I read it and how struck I was by the truth it carried. I am not a parent, but I could imagine how this poem translates in their lives as they watch their children grow.
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I love the pairing of the photo with this moving poem. Gibran deserves another look.
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I’m glad you do. It took some time to find an image that goes well with the poem. Definitely, Gibran is wise. 🙂
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Hi, Iphigene–
This poem was spoken at the Mothers’ Day service at my congregation last weekend. That bow and arrows metaphor is just genius and I love being surprised by it again and again.
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Hi Heidi,
It is indeed a surprising thing. I read this when I was younger, then encountered it again in one of my courses in Developmental Psychology. A professor read this poem to sum up parenting. It’s a beautiful way to describe what parents do, that they are bows and the children are arrows. Thanks for dropping by. 🙂
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Powerful.
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It is. That is very much how I felt when I first encountered and understood the meaning of the poem.
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