Gibran's Children

By Jay El

11 Mar 2009

Here's Khallil Gibran's classic poem on the soul of children. The Hippocratic oath ("First, do no harm") & Gibran's poetic musings ("On Children") define my practice & my approach to primary care.

On Children

By: Kahlil Gibran.

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,

which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them,

but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children

as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,

and He bends you with His might

that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies,

so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Links:

Is the Hippocratic Oath still relevant?

pbs.org/wgbh/nova/doctors/oath_today

What chocolate?

Waiting for her shots...

Late for the Giants

35 mi/hr under the Gran Via

Moment of zen

2 responses

Lêda Nardelli said (24 Mar 2009):
só hoje vi que havia postado este poema... e fotos! lindos! sim, "vossos filhos não são vossos filhos. são os filhos e as filhas da ânsia da vida por si mesma..." assim deveria ser... com tudo o que passa por nós... apenas guardiães... sem posse, apego... ah, longe de uma alma "gribanesca", mas vislumbrar pode ser o caminho... parabéns, moço!
joe barrett said (5 Jul 2009):
what can you saw except, perfect!