Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet Page #3

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"When you work

you are a flute

"Through whose heart The whispering

of the hours turns to music

"And when you work with love

You bind yourself to yourself

"And to one another,

and to God

"And what is it

to work with love?

"It is to weave the cloth With

threads drawn from your heart

"Even as if your beloved

Were to wear that cloth

"It is to build

a house with affection

"Even as if your beloved

Were to dwell in that house

"It is to sow seeds with tenderness

And reap the harvest with joy

"Even as if your

beloved were to eat the fruit

"It is to charge

all things you fashion

"With a breath

of your own spirit

"And to know that

all the blessed dead

"Are standing

about you and watching

"Often I have heard you say

As if speaking in sleep

"'One who works in marble,

and finds

"The shape of their

own soul in the stone

"'Is nobler than

one who plows the soil

"'And one who

seizes the rainbow

"'To lay it on a cloth

in the likeness of man

"'Is more than one who makes

The sandals for our feet'

"But I say, not in sleep But in

the over-wakefulness ofnoonHde

"That the wind speaks Not more

sweetly to the giant oaks

"Than it does to

the smallest blades of grass

"And they are great Who turn the

voice of the wind into a song

"Made sweeter by

their own loving

"Work is love made visible "

Well, that was lovely, wasn't it?

Very edifying

But we need to

be moving along.

What's the hurry?

He's just been released.

Yes, we haven't

seen him for years.

Where are you taking him?

I thought he was free.

I am free, my friends.

Today, I'm being

sent home to my country.

I must admit, it will be

good to see my home again.

Please, sir.

Before you go, I insist

we serve you a proper meal.

Yes, everyone knows

the food on those

ships is terrible.

Come. Sit.

Out of the way, out of the way, people.

Come on.

Bashira! The best

for Mustafa.

Oh!

And you'll need

provisions for your trip.

HHVS SOITIS OFHDQSS.

Some pistachios.

Nowjust one minute.

I'm in charge here!

And I say whether...

Ooh. Is that fresh halvah?

IVlmm.

Oh! Oh!

All right, five minutes.

And not a moment longer.

What generosity!

Enough,enough!

Thank you, dear people.

Thank you for

the gifts of your labor,

and thanks to

the earth for its gifts.

"Would that you could live From

the fragrance of the earth

"And like an air plant

Be sustained by the light

"But since we must

kill to eat

"Then let it be

an act of worship

"When you gather the grapes For

the winepress, say in your heart

"'l too am a vineyard

"'And my fruit shall be

gathered For the winepress

"'And the wine shall be kept

In eternal vessels'

"And when you crush an apple

With your teeth

"Say to it in your heart

"'Your seeds

shall live in my body

"'And the buds of your tomorrow

Shall blossom in my heart

"'Your blood and my blood is the

sap That feeds the tree of heaven

"'And together we shall rejoice

Through all the seasons"'

Thank you, friends.

I'll miss you.

I'll miss you all.

Watch him.

I'll be back in a moment.

Right!

What...

No, listen...

Listen to me!

He's a danger, and his

influence continues to grow.

I need at least five men here

and more when we get there.

No, he doesn't

suspect anything.

But the people...

There may be resistance.

Oh, yes, the Pasha will know

how to handle Mustafa.

Hey!

It's you!

Open this door at once!

IVlmm. IVlmm!

Oh!

So true.

Mustafa, my friend, we feed the

body, but you, you feed the soul.

Sir? IVlay I have

a word with you?

"Sir"? After seven years?

Please, Halim

Here, have some wine.

Is something

troubling you, Halim?

No! No, no, no.

lwasjust

Yes, there is.

Yes? Go on.

I know everyone sees me as

this self-assured, dauntless,

impenetrable

fortress of strength.

Ahh!

But, um...

...the truth is, and this

might surprise you,

I actually have one thing

that fills me with fear.

And that is?

Expressing feelings of love.

Ah. Love.

For Kamila?

You knew?

I see her lovely

face every day,

but I have no

idea how she feels.

I mean, perhaps she's intimidated

by my status, my authority.

Intimidated? Your...

No. No, no, no, no.

Don't let that worry you.

Good. Okay. Good.

But now that you're leaving, I mean,

she won't be coming around anymore.

And if I don't

do something soon,

I mightjust lose her forever!

What will I do?

I just...

I mean, what can I do?

Halim, Halim.

I... I...

Yes?

You're mangling that mango.

Oh...

Ha-ha.

So I am.

Halim, when love beckons

to you, follow him,

though his ways

are hard and steep.

When love

beckons to you

Follow him

Though his ways

are hard and steep

And when his wings

enfold you, yield to him

Though he hides

a sword among them

And when he speaks to you

Believe in him

Though his voice

may shatter your dreams

Love will

crown and crucify you

And though for your growth

so he is for your pruning

Love will caress

your tenderest branches

And shake

every clinging root

Like sheaves of corn

he gathers you unto himself

He threshes and sifts you

He grinds and he kneads you

And then he assigns

you to his sacred fire

That you may become sacred

bread for God's sacred feast

All these things

shall love do unto you

That you may know

the secrets of your heart

And in that

knowledge become a fragment

A fragment of Life's heart

Now if in your fear you seek only

love's peace and love's pleasure

Better cover your nakedness And

pass out of love's threshing-floor

Into a seasonless world

where you shall laugh

But not all your laughter

And weep and weep,

but not all of your tears

Love gives naught but itself

And takes

naught but from itself

Love possesses not

nor would it be possessed

For love is enough

You should say,

"I am in the heart of God"

You cannot

direct the course of Love

If Love, it finds you

worthy, directs your course

To wake at dawn

with a winged heart

To come home in

the evening with gratitude

Then to sleep with a prayer

for the beloved in your heart

And a song of

praise on your lips

"And then to sleep with a prayer

for the beloved in your heart

"And a song of

praise upon your lips"

Ah!

Ah! Caught you.

Yes.

Excuse me, have you met my friend?

Her name is Almitra.

Your friend,

you say. Oh.

We have met, yes.

Oh, good, I'll feel better

knowing she has friends

to look after

her when I'm gone.

What is it, Yousef?

It's just that, you see...

Well, it can be hard to get to

know someone who refuses to speak.

I can see how

that might be.

On the other hand,

sometimes people talk when they cease

to be at peace with their thoughts.

But there are those

who have the truth

within them, only they

tell it not in words.

In the heart of these, the spirit

dwells in rhythmic silence.

Oh. How did you...

And if I find that little ruffian,

I'll throw her in irons!

Break time's over.

Come on, let's get a move on.

Shh.

Oh. Don't leave now.

Mustafa, please.

You just got here,

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