Kahlil Gibran is an outstanding Arabic writer, included by UNESCO in the list of golden names of the 20th century. A philosopher, poet, and artist, and one of the authors who is read with equal interest in the West and East, he managed to combine Eastern thought and the poetic flavor of the East with Christian and universal ideas. However, he always remained on his own, not associated with any religious practice. “The Prophet,” the book that glorified Gibran Khalil Gibran, is considered to be the height of the poet’s philosophy and has been translated into hundreds of languages worldwide. It consists of 26 philosophical prose poems; one of them is dedicated to children.
The choice fell on the line “They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself,” reflecting a deep meaning that one wants to refer to and think about again. (Academy of American Poets, 2021, line 4) The wisdom in these words gives food for thought, which is why it was chosen. The strong words of the above line carry a meaning that would seem to be clear to everyone. However, people often forget the main thing: parents cannot dispose of children as of something that belongs only to them. The point is that the lives of children can blossom in the hands of parents, but to assert the child is “mine” is to defend one’s ignorance. The line can be used to elucidate that parents use correct parenting strategies. Many parents in the world have ruined their children’s lives because they view them as property, which is fundamentally wrong. This line serves as a reminder that children have their own path that a parent can help find without taking over the children’s own lives.
Reference
Academy of American Poets. (2021).On Children by Kahlil Gibran.