I found this beautiful poem by Kahlil Gibran about the subconscious. I myself have found that poetry comes closer to the truth of reality than science or mainstream religion. That words uttered, inspired and guided by intuition uncovers more universal impersonal truths and their personal connection to us as a spiritual organic symbiosis better than nearly all the other forms of expression. Anyway here is the poem. I hope you like it:

The Sleep-walkers


In the town where I was born lived a woman and her daughter, who walked in their sleep.
One night, while silence enfolded the world, the woman and her daughter, walking, yet asleep, met in their mist-veiled garden.
And the mother spoke, and she said: "At last, at last, my enemy! You by whom my youth was destroyed---who have built up your life upon the ruins of mine! Would I could kill you!"
And the daughter spoke, and she said: "O hateful woman, selfish and old! Who stand between my freer self and me! Who would have my life an echo of your own faded life! Would you were dead!"
At that moment a cock crew, and both women awoke. The mother said gently, "Is that you, darling?" And the daughter answered gently, "Yes, dear."

beautiful aye?

Any comments. What does it mean to you? I plan to put in a few more poems as I go along. If any of you have or know any poems you think expresses an intuitive truth or whatever, please dont hesitate to put it up. I like such poems because they are spiritually and philosophically universal in their approach.
There is no beauty that is exclusive in my view, all is either universal or is meaningless and non-existent. Often I feel that we go for that which is meaningless and non-existent because we fear the universal because the universal makes us see ourselves in a deeper light. In such a place we see our more radiant self but also our more ugly or evil self. People are scared to face the bad and by not willing to face the bad within themselves, miss out on their own greater good. It gets to a point after a while that you realize that they are both one thing and not two. That neither are good nor bad but both expressions that exist without any further purpose.

Wow, I don't know if it's because it's 1:40am here now or what but I just cried.
How beautifully written.

IMO, the person who wrote this poem wasn't writing from the eyes of a mother. Actually, I understand what the author is trying to say but I don't relate to it (as a mother myself to a daughter). I can see how other's might and it's very sad. Maybe that's why I cried.

Thank you for sharing. Jody

Dreams my friend can answer your questions.....it's like your body has its own words or even God....Dreams put people in different situations, and the worst it is, you're aware of something rather comparable to it. If it was nice, it's something you'd have if you did this or that...one of the mysteries that will never be solved....never

Beautiful! To me, it says that the selfish consciousness is not the awake consciousness. Something like that.

Thanks.

Im glad you liked it. Im glad you can sense where the author was coming from.

Or perhaps it shows that the motives of the awake consciousness isn't always what the awake consciousness claims. Am glad you liked it.

True aye

great poem....good find brave

BEYOND MY SOLITUDE

Beyond my solitude is another solitude, and to him who dwells therein my aloneness is a crowded market-place and my silence a confusion of sounds.Too young am I and too restless to seek that above solitude. The voices of yonder valley still hold my ears, and its shadows bar my way and I cannot go.
Beyond these hills is a grove of enchantment and to him who dwells therein my peace is but a whirlwind and my enchantment an illusion.Too young am I and too riotous to seek that sacred grove. The taste of blood is clinging in my mouth, and the bow and the arrrows of my fathers yet linger in my hand and I cannot go.
Beyond this burdened self lives my freer self; and to him my dreams are a battle fought in twilight and my desires the rattling of bones.Too young am I and too outraged to be my freer self.And how shall I become my freer self unless I slay my burdened selves, or unless all men become free?How shall my leaves fly singing upon the wind unless my roots shall wither in the dark?How shall the eagle in me soar against the sun until my fledglings leave the nest which I with my own beak have built for them?-----Kahlil Gibran

Tears and Laughter

Upon the bank of the Nile at eventide, a hyena met a crocodile and they stopped and greetd one another. The hyena spoke and said, "How goes the day with you Sir?"And the crocodile answered saying "It goes badly with me. Sometimes in my pain and sorrow I weep, and then the creatures always say, 'They are but crocodile tears.' And this wounds me beyond telling."Then the hyena said, "You speak of your pain and your sorrow, but think of me also, for a moment. I gaze at the beauty of the world, its wonders and its miracles, and out of sheer joy I laugh even as the day laughs. And then the people of the jungle say, 'It is but the laughter of a hyena."

---Kahlil Gibran

Thank you Becky

I am a big sucker for poems....I write some myself..brave..........have you ever written any??

Moderator Tigg has..they are fantastic

SIGH I love poems...they speak out much louder than any post or lecture...they grab hold of your emotions....pems rock

Upon the bank of the Nile at eventide, a hyena met a crocodile and they stopped and greetd one another. The hyena spoke and said, "How goes the day with you Sir?"And the crocodile answered saying "It goes badly with me. Sometimes in my pain and sorrow I weep, and then the creatures always say, 'They are but crocodile tears.' And this wounds me beyond telling."Then the hyena said, "You speak of your pain and your sorrow, but think of me also, for a moment. I gaze at the beauty of the world, its wonders and its miracles, and out of sheer joy I laugh even as the day laughs. And then the people of the jungle say, 'It is but the laughter of a hyena."

One word - WONDERFUL

Wanting, need, desire All left unfulfilled.
Unfulfilled due to fear, youth and lack of self confidence.
True power lies within and is blinded by the invisible "list" made; acheivements to be fulfulled.
IMO, the author is inferring you must hit rock bottom and break free in order to realize the beauty of your own life.

Beautiful and thought provoking. Thank you Brave.



Ahhh, BRILLIANT. I feel no need for my own interpreting on this one. It speaks for itself. Jody

I did one time when I was coming off of amphetamines. Im glad you liked the others ones.

I love you shera.

I love you too Brave

Keep the poems coming. I may get inspired to write a few more for my collection. xo, Jody

Love and hate

A woman said unto a man, "I love you."
And the man said, "It is in my heart to be worthy of your love."
And the woman said, "You love me not?" And the man only gazed upon her and said nothing.
Then the woman cried aloud, "I hate you." And the man said "Then it is also in my heart to be worthy of your hate."

---Kahlil Gibran



THE GOOD GOD AND THE EVIL GOD

The Good God and the Evil God met on the mountain top.
The Good God said, "Good day to you, brother."
The Evil God made no answer.
And the Good God said, "You are in a bad humour today."
"Yes," said the Evil God, "for of late I have been often mistaken for you, called by your name, and treated as if I were you, and it ill-pleases me."
And the Good God said, "But I too have been mistaken for you and called by your name."
The Evil God walked away cursing the stupidity of man.

---Kahlil Gibran

Ahhh lovely. He made himself clear. I guess making assumptions on her part not not wise, eh? Choose the questions you ask with much thought.



I guess one strives to be what they want. Separate and individual unto themselves; anything other than that is distasteful to some, but not to others.

Very cool. Thanks! Jody

poetry is a beautiful tool of expressing truth, but not the truth itself

The Sleep-walkers
In the town where I was born lived a woman and her daughter, who walked in their sleep.
One night, while silence enfolded the world, the woman and her daughter, walking, yet asleep, met in their mist-veiled garden.
And the mother spoke, and she said: "At last, at last, my enemy! You by whom my youth was destroyed---who have built up your life upon the ruins of mine! Would I could kill you!"
And the daughter spoke, and she said: "O hateful woman, selfish and old! Who stand between my freer self and me! Who would have my life an echo of your own faded life! Would you were dead!"
At that moment a cock crew, and both women awoke. The mother said gently, "Is that you, darling?" And the daughter answered gently, "Yes, dear."

beautiful aye?

Any comments. What does it mean to you?

Great thread, Melancholy Man~ This poem reminds a bit of the masks we all wear and perhaps those masks were down and unveiled while the women were sleep walking. Especially with mother-daughter relationships. They are so complex. I am a mother and I am also a daughter, as well as a sister. The feminine is so powerful, isn't it?!

Anyway, that's my take on the poem. Thanks again, MM

Love and hate

A woman said unto a man, "I love you."
And the man said, "It is in my heart to be worthy of your love."
And the woman said, "You love me not?" And the man only gazed upon her and said nothing.
Then the woman cried aloud, "I hate you." And the man said "Then it is also in my heart to be worthy of your hate."

---Kahlil Gibran


This reminds me of Us and God. Does not God Allow us our free will to be who we are and think our own thoughts and does God not also encourage that within us? He makes no judgments, He (or She) Just IS. He is always there no matter what craziness comes out of our mouths and minds. He's steady and loving. Kahlil Gibran was an amazingly insightful poet... as you seem to be Melancholy Man for posting such beauty.

Enjoying it sooo much ~

I love ya new mantraI couldnt agree more.

The pleasure is all yours hahahaha

I agree with your notion about God or Tao just 'being' or 'is'. In fact 'isness" is the best way to describe God in my view.

I found this story in the book "The alchemist" by Paulo Coelho:

The Alchemist picked up a book that someone in the caravan had brought. leafing through the pages, he found a story about Narcissus.
The alchemist knew the legend of Narcissus, a youth who knelt daily beside a lake to contemplate his own beauty. He was so fascinated by himself that, one morning, he fell into the lake and drowned. At the spot where he fell, a flower was born, which was called the narcissus.
But this was not how the author of the book ended the story.

He said that when Narcissus died, the goddesses of the forest appeared and found the lake, which had been fresh water, transformed into a lake of salty tears.
"Why do you weep?" the goddesses asked?
"I weep for Narcissus," the lake replied.
"Ah, it is no surprise that you weep for Narcissus," they said, "for though we always pursued him in the forest, you alone could contemplate his beauty close at hand."

"But. . . was Narcissus beautiful?" the lake asked.
"Who better than you to know that?" the goddesses said in wonder. "After all, it was by your banks that he knelt each day to contemplate himself!"
The lake was silent for some time. Finally, it said:
" I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected."

"What a lovely story," the alchemist thought.


I'll put some more Kahlil Gibran ones up but I thought this was worth putting up too.

Just a thought...

If a man is crossing a river and an empty boat collides with his own skiff, even though he be a bad-tempered man he will not become very angry. But if he sees a man in the boat, he will shout to him to steer clear. And if the shout is not heard he will shout again and yet again, and begin cursing...and all because there is somebody in that boat. Yet if the boat were empty, he would not be shouting and he would not be so angry.

If you can empty your boat crossing the river of the world, no one will oppose you, no one will seek to harm you. ~ Chuang Tzu

Perhaps the mother and the daughter are the baggage in each others boat....even when asleep they are there....hmmm...interesting that the baggage does not appear to be there in their wakeful state...i am starting to see different meaning within this poem...it may not just be about the mother and daughters relationship literal interpretation...but also a metaphysical look at the state of wakefulness and sleep in regards to reality. Those who are asleep or not in reality carry baggage in their boat and so the mother and daughter express this anger. When in a wakeful state or are in reality so to speak there is love and kindness...yeah, thats my interpretation.

edit: yeah, so he could basically be refering to all in conflict as sleep walkers ...m hm...yeh!

be of this world but not in it, walk lightly or en-light-enment is letting go of all preconcieved notions coming to the moment open.... it is our beleifs that create our behaviors use great care in the ones you think you need.....

NN sweetie i had to read what you wrote mon amie, your mind is like poetry to moi...(((HUGS))))

and you are my muse mon cherie *muah*

THE MERMAIDS

In the depths of the sea, surrounding the nearby islands where the sun rises, there is a profoundness. And there where the pearl exists in abundance, lay a corpse of a youth encircled by sea maidens of long golden hair; they stared upon him with their deep blue eyes, conversing among themselves with musical voices And the conversation, heard by the depths and conveyed to the shore by the waves, was brought to me by the frolicsome breeze.

One of them said, "This is a human who entered into our world yesterday, while the sea was raging."
And the second one said, "The sea was not raging. Man who claims that he is a descendent of the Gods, was making iron war, and his blood is being shed until the colour of the water is now crimson; this human is a victim of war."

The third one ventured, "I do not know what war is, but I do know that man, after having subdued the land, became aggressive and resolved to subdue the sea. He devised a strange object which carried him upon the seas, whereupon our severe Neptune became enraged over his greed. In order to please Neptune, man commenced offering gifts and sacrifices, and the still body before us is the most recent gift of man to our great and terrible Neptune."

The fourth one asserted, "How great is Neptune, and how cruel his heart! If I were the Sultan of the sea I would refuse to accept such payment. . . .Come now, and let us examine this ransom. Perhaps we may enlighten ourselves as to the human clan."
The mermaids approached the youth, probed the pockets, and found a message close to his heart; one of them read it aloud to the others:

"My Beloved:
"Midnight has again come, and I have no consolation except my pouring tears, and naught to comfort me save my hope in your return to me from between the bloody paws of war. I cannot forget your words when you took departure:

'Every man has a trust of tears which must be returned some day.'

"I know not what to say, My Beloved, but my soul will pour itself into parchment. . . my soul that suffers through separation, but is consoled by Love tat renders pain a joy, and sorrow a happiness. When Love unified our hearts, and we looked to the day when our to hearts would be joined by the mighty breath of God, War shouted her horrible call and you followed her, prompted by your duty to the leaders.
"What is this duty that separates the lovers, and causes the women to become widows, and the children to become orphans? What is this patriotism which provokes wars and destroys kingdoms through trifles? And what cause can be more trifling when compared to but one life? What is this duty which invites poor villagers, who are looked upon as nothing by the strong and by the sons of the inherited nobility, to die for the glory of their oppressors? If duty destroys peace among nations, and patriotism disturbs the tranquility of man's life, then let us say, 'Peace be with duty and patriotism.'
"No, no, My Beloved! Heed not my words! Be courageous to your country. . . Hearken not unto the talk of a damsel, blinded by Love and lost through farewell and aloneness. . . .If Love will not restore you to me in this life, then Love will surely join us in the coming life.
Yours Forever"

The mermaids replaced the note under the youth's raiment and swam silently and sorrowfully away. As they gathered together at a distance from the body of the dead soldier, one of them said, "The human heart is more severe than the cruel heart of Neptune."


---Kahlil Gibran

The new pleasure

Last night I invented a new pleasure, and as I was giving it the firsttrial an angel and a devil came rushing toward my house. They met at my door and fought with each other over my newly created pleasure; the one crying, "It is a sin!"---the other, "It is a virtue!"

Kahlil Gibran

Great post BRAVE! Those poems are beautiful!

Thanks man.

Laughter and tears





As the sun withdrew his rays from the garden, and the moon threw cushioned beams upon the flowers, I sat under the trees pondering upon the phenomena of the atmosphere, looking through the branches at the strewn stars which glittered like chips of silver upon a blue carpet; and I could hear from a distance the agitated murmur of the rivulet singing its way brskly into the valley.

When the birds took shelter among the boughs, and the flowers folded their pedals, and tremendous silence descended , I heard a rustle of feet through the grass. I took heed and saw a young couple approaching my arbor. They sat under a tree where I could see them without being seen.

After he looked about in every direction, I heard the young man saying, "Sit by me, my beloved, and listen to my heart; smile, for your happiness is a symbol of our future; be merry, for the sparkling days rejoice with us.
"My soul is warning me of the doubt in your heart, for doubt in love is a sin.
"Soon you will be the owner of this vast land, lighted by this beautiful moon; soon you will be the mistress of my palace, and all the servants and maids will obey your commands.
"Smile, my beloved, like the gold smiles from my father's coffers.
"My heart refuses to deny you its secret. Twleve months of comfort and travel await us; fr a year we will spend my father's gold at the blue lakes of Switzerland, and viewing the edifices of Italy and Egypt, and resting the Holy Cedars of Lebanon; you will meet the princesses who will envy you for your jewels and clothes.
"All these things I will do for you; will you be satisfied?"

In a little while I saw them walking and stepping on flowers as the rich step upon the hearts of the poor. As they disappeared from my sight, I commenced to make comparison between love and money, and to analyse their position in my heart.

Money! The source of insincere love; the spring of false light and fortune; the well of poisoned water; the desperation of old age!

I was still wandering in the vast desert of contemplation when a forlorn and spectre-like couple passes by me and sat on the grass; a young man and a young woman who had left their farming shacks in the nearby fields for this cool and solitary place.

After a few moments of complete silence, I heard the following words uttered with sighs from weather-bitten lips,
"Shed not tears, my beloved; love that opens our eyes and enslaves our hearts, can give us the blessings of patience. Be consoled in our delay, for we have taken an oath and entered Love's shrine for our love will ever grow in adversity; for it is in Love's name that we are suffering the obstacles of poverty and the sharpness of misery and the emptiness of separation. I shall attack these hardships until I triumph and place in your hands a strength that will help over all things to complete the journey of life.

"Love---which is God---will consider our sighs and tears as incense burned at His alter and He will reward us with fortitude. Good-bye, my beloved; I must leave before the heartening moon vanishes."

A pure voice, combined of the consuming flame of love, and the hopeless bitterness of longing and the resolved sweetness of patience, said, "Good-bye, my beloved."

They separated, and the elegy to their union was smothered by the wails of my crying heart.
I looked upon slumbering Nature, and with deep reflection discovered the reality of a vast and infinite thing---
something no power could demand, influence acquire, nor riches purchase. Nor could it be effaced by the tears of time or deadened by sorrow; a thing which cannot be discovered by the blue lakes of Switzerland or the beautiful edifices of Italy.
It is something that gathers strength with patience, grows despite obstacles, warms in winter, flourishes in spring, casts a breeze in summer, and bears fruit in autumn---I found Love.

--- Kahlil Gibran

Stunningly wonderful.

Ahh, but the pleasure he invented was his alone. Who is to judge what is pleasure to another?

Beautifully true. That struck me to the core. Thank you.

I love you hun, Jody

Get a room LOL


Just kidding !!!!!

LMAO BM!!! LMAO... LMAO....

I love you hun, Jody

thats our charming bravey wooing the ladies with his prose and stories.....gilrs love a romantic guy don'tthey she-ra???

Ahhh he's harmless hun. Of course girl's love romance. I love the poems; I try to write poems often but lately haven't been able to... . It's all good hun. I love him as I love you doll face Jody

I know ya do hun just razzin ya ... bravey is a good guy more ought to be like him ..he is a gentleman through and through...

These are all wonderful, Brave. And I see meaning in all of them, but would rather not voice my interpretations.

Thanks.

One's reaction to poetry shows the depth of one's being. Im glad you like them. Kahlil Gibran was so spiritually aware in my view. I'd love to be his disciple.

Solitude and Seclusion

Life is an island in an ocean of solitude and seclusion.
Life is an island, rocks are its desires, trees its dreams, and flowers its loneliness, and it is in the middle of an ocean of solitude and seclusion.
Your life, my friend, is an island separated from all other islands and continents. Regardless of how many boats you send to other shores or how many ships arrive upon your shores, you yourself are an island separated by its own pains, secluded in its happiness and far away in its compassion and hidden in its secrets and mysteries.

I saw you, my friend, sitting upon a mound of gold, happy in your wealth and great in your riches and believing that a handful of gold is the secret chain that links the thoughts of the people with your own thoughts and links their feeling with your own.

I saw you as a great conqueror leading a conquering army toward a fortress, then destroying and capturing it.
On second glance I found beyond the wall of your treasures a heart trembling in its solitude and seclusion like the trembling of a thirsty man within a cage of gold and jewels, but without water.

I saw you, my friend, sitting on a throne of glory, surrounded by people extolling your charity, enumerating your gifts, gazing upon you as if they were in the presence of a prophet lifting their souls up into planets and stars.
I saw you you looking at them, contentment and strength upon your face, as if you were to them as the soul is to the body.

On the second look I saw your secluded self standing beside your throne, suffering in its seclusion and quaking in its loneliness. I saw that self stretching its hands as if begging from unseen ghosts. I saw it looking above the shoulders of the people to a far horizen, empty of everything except its solitude and seclusion.

I saw you, my friend, passionately in love with a beautiful woman, filling her palms with your kisses as she looked at you with sympathy and affection in her eyes and the sweetness of motherhood on her lips; I said, secretly, that love has erased his solitude and removed his seclusion and he is now within the eternal soul which draws toward itself, with love, those who were separated by solitude and seclusion.

On the second look I saw behind your soul another lonely soul, like a frog, trying in vain to become a drop of tears in the palm of that woman.

Your life, my friend, is a residence far away from any other residence and neighbours.
Your inner soul is a home far away from other homes named after you. If this residence is dark, you cannot light it with your neighbour's lamp; if it is empty you cannot fill it with the riches of your neighbour; were it in the middle of a desert, you could not move it to a garden planted by someone else.

Your inner soul, my friend, is surrounded with solitude and seclusion. Were it not for this solitude and this seclusion you would not be you and I would not be I. If it were not for that solitude and seclusion , I would, if I heard your voice, think myself to be speaking; yet, if I saw your face, I would imagine that I were looking into a mirror.

---Kahlil Gibran


It is poems like this that make me feel that there is an afterlife and that there is a God. The fact that we humans with our feelings can go so much deeper than any science measuring device speaks for itself in my view.

It is from reading things like this that my intuitin is teased by eternity and so knowing eternity is here, how can I ever not have faith?

GREAT ONE!! Jody

As long as it pleased you

This poem by Kahili Gibran is more of a prose story. Anyway there are five parts to it and frankly I cant be bothered writing it all out. I decided to write out the part that stood out to me the most which I think is quite beautiful. The initial story is a man seeks out a hermit and tries to take out of the hermit the reason for his seclusion. At one time they are conversing within the hermits dwelling and the hermit mentions that "there is only one thing that the spirit loves and craves" in which the seeker asks eagerly :

"What is it?" I inquired with quivering voice. He (the hermit) looked at me for a long minute and then closes his eyes. He placed his hands on his chest, while his face brightened, and with a serene and sincere voice he said, "It is an awakening in the spirit; it is an awakening in the inner depths of the heart; it is an overwhelming and magnificient power that descends suddenly upon man's conscience and opens his eyes, whereupon he sees Life amid a dizzying shower of brilliant music, surrounded by a circle of great light, with man standing as a pillar of beauty between the earth and the firmament. It is a flame that suddenly rages within the spirit and sears and purifies the heart, ascending above the earth and hovering in the spacious sky.
It is a kindness that envelopes the individual's heart whereby he would bewilder and disapprove all who opposed it, and revolt against those who refuse to understand its great meaning. It is a secret hand which removed the veil from my eyes while I was a member of society amidst my famly, my friends and my countrymen.

"Many times I wondered, and spoke to myself, saying 'What is this Universe, and why am I different from those people who are looking at me, and how do I know them, and where did I meet them, and why am I living among them? Am I a stranger among them, or is it they who are strange to this earth, built by Life who entrusted me with the keys?'"

He suddenly became silent, as if remembering something he had seen long before, refusing to reveal it. Then he strected his arms forward and whispered, "That is what happened to me four years ago, when I left the world and came to this void place to live in the awakeness of life and enjoy kind thoughts and beautiful silence."

He walked toward the door, looking at the depths of the darknessas if preparing to address the tempest. But he spoke in a vibrating voice, saying, "It is an awakening within the spirit; he who knows it, is unable to reveal it by words; and he who knows it not, will never think upon the compelling and beautiful mystery of existence."


This basicly sums up mans purpose for me. Anyway later on in another part of the story the young seeker returns to the city and says to himself:

"Yes, the spiritual awakening is the most essential thing in man's life, and it is the sole purpose of being. Is not civilisation, in all its tragic forms,a supreme motive for spiritual awakening? Then how can we deny existing matter, while its very existence is unwavering proof of its conformability into the intended fitness? The present civilisatio may possess a vanishing purpose, but the eternal law has offered to that purpose a ladder whose steps can lead to a free substance."


Do these writings not click with one's intuition or heart? How can organized religion or rigid scientific logic be able in the long run compete to the natural spiritual awakenings of man? I hope you enjoyed this one. It is by far my favourite (even if I didnt write it all in).

But be honest with me here. Is not such writings as these as I have presented not proof enough that there is something transcendental and beyond about man's nature that the naked eye and ear cannot percieve? How can we say such graceful and inspired writing merely exists as a physical talent? How can one remain an atheist or conventional church doctrine believer after witnessing such open minded articulation of the spirit? How can anyone honestly say that God only awakens in those who believe certain scriptures or sermons? Spirit is universal and so is God's religion. And God's religion is love. As simple as that. Love the best you can and all else will fall into place.

I concur with Solomon:

The entire duty of man is to Love God and keep His Commandments.

Brave...that was straight from the heart...and with a little sneaky set-up to boot...lol, never-the-less, beautifully expressed.

Awww thanks Too right!

Brave- Bello, incuriosire e verità. Amo come pensate. Brillante idee. Credo! Ti amo giovane. Jody

Well I'm convinced!
Thanks for showing us this lovely poetry.

The pleasure is mine man