THE BROKEN WINGS, REVISITED

K

halil Gibran (January 6, 1883 - April 10, 1931) the poet, philosopher, writer and painter was born in Bsharri, Lebanon and soon immigrated to United States. In literature world, he is chiefly known for his timeless popular work The Prophet which recently has been adapted into an animated movie by Salma Hayek. His other great works include Jesus The Son of Man, A Tear And A Smile, The Earth Gods, The Forerunner, The Madman, Sand And Foam, Spirit Rebellious, Lazarus and His Beloved, The Wanderer and The Broken Wings. 

According to wikipedia, "Gibran is the third best selling poet of all time, behind Shakespeare and Laozi."

Among his works, the fiction poetic novella The Broken Wings  stands as my favourite. Each time I read it, I get to relive the love and life of the poet: Selma Karamy comes back to life to share the spiritual love with the poet but gets forsaken too by her cruel fate to her prisoners and to the saddening end.

Following are few excerpts from the book:

1.Her hand, when I touched it, was like a white lily, and a strange pang pierced my heart.

2.Real beauty lies in the spiritual accord that is called love which can exist between a man and a woman.

3.Love is the only freedom in the world because it so elevates the spirit that the laws of humanity and the phenomena of nature do not alter its course.

4.Every visit gave me a new meaning to her beauty and a new insight into her sweet spirit, Until she became a book whose pages I could understand and whose praises I could sing, but which I could never finish reading.

5.God had made two bodies in one, an separation could be nothing but agony.

6.Hearts that are united through the medium of sorrow will not be separated by the glory of happiness. Love that is cleansed by tears will remain externally pure and beautiful.

7.One thought will come to you at night which will elevate you to glory or lead you to asylum. One look from a woman's eye makes you the happiest man in the world. One word from a man's lips will make you rich or poor.

8.The mountains, trees, and rivers change their appearance with the vicissitudes of times and seasons, as a man changes with his experiences and emotions.

9.Modern civilization has made woman a little wiser, but it has increased her suffering because of man's covetousness.

10.The trees and flowers become kind mothers of their great fruits and seeds. And the mother, the prototype of all existence, is the external spirit, full of beauty and love.

11.The poets and writers are trying to understand the reality of woman, but upto this day they have not understood the hidden secrets of her heart, because they look upon her from behind the sexual veil and see nothing but externals; they look upon her through the magnifying glass of hatefulness and find nothing except weakness and submission.

12.The man buys glory and reputation, but the woman pays the price.

13.He who extinguishes his spirit s fire with his own hands is an infidel in the eyes of Heaven, for Heaven set the fire that burns in our spirits.

14.Limited love asks for possession of the beloved but the unlimited asks for itself.

15.The flowers of the field are the children of Sun's affection and natures love; and the children of men are the flowers of love and compassion.