When I Haven't Words of My Own...

I'm in a Kahlil Gibran mood this evening; I found The Prophet lying on the bookshelf of this guest bedroom and pulled it out to share it with She. Since then, his words have been filling a space in my head and, while I would like to share all of it with you, I thought I would draw from the inspiration of A Friend and just give you a smattering of his words.

You talk
when you cease
to be at peace
with your thoughts;
And when you can no longer
dwell
in the solitude of your heart
you live in your lips,
and sound is a diversion and a pastime.

And in much of your talking,
thinking is half murdered.
Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield,
upon which your reason
and your judgment
wage war against passion
and your appetite.
Would that I could
be the peacemaker in your soul,
that I might turn
the discord and the rivalry
of your elements into
oneness and melody.

But how shall I,
unless you
yourselves
be also
the peacemakers, nay,
the lovers
of all your elements?

Your hearts know
in silence the secrets
of the days and the nights.
But your ears thirst
for the sound of your heart's knowledge.

You would know in words
that which you have always known
in thought.
You would touch
with your fingers
the naked body
of your dreams.
Is not the cup
that hold your wine
the very cup
that was burned
in the potter's oven?
And is not the lute
that soothes your spirit,
the very wood
that was hollowed
with knives?

When love beckons
to you follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold
you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden
among his pinions
may wound you.
And when he speaks to you
believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter
your dreams
as the north wind lays waste
the garden.

Who among you does not feel
that his power to love is boundless?

For love is sufficient unto love.

Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.

And it drinks me while I drink it.

(From: The Farewell, Reason and Passion, Joy and Sorrow, Talking, Love and Self-Knowledge)