When I married my husband and searched for meaningful words to incorporate into our wedding ceremony, I found the perfect prose in Kahlil Gibran’s ‘The Prophet’, a book of 26 prose-poetry fables, originally published in 1923. This beautiful book has been translated into over 100 languages and has never been out of print.
Recently, I was fortunate to visit Melbourne’s Immigration Museum and an exhibition entitled ‘Kahlil Gibran: The Garden of the Prophet’, celebrating his life and work. Kahlil Gibran’s literary writings have inspired some of the most influential figures of our time; Indira Gandhi, Elvis Presley, John Lennon and David Bowie to name a few. As well as a literary creative, Kahlil Gibran was an accomplished artist, especially in drawing and watercolour painting.
Reflecting on our marriage and the love I share with my husband, I was thrilled to find on display under glass, the original typeset of the words we shared in front of our friends and family on our wedding day. A special, poignant moment for us as we re-read them together in the hushed, humbly-crafted environment in the inner halls of the museum.
Kahlil Gibran’s enduring legacy of art and literature resides in my heart and in the heart of many human beings. His message of spiritual unity and reconciliation touched me on my wedding day and continues to light my path.
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The prose and the poetry I write may never be read, may never be published, but they are part of my legacy.
“For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountaintop,then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.”
―
LIHazleton.
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LyndyH 