The Great Longing | Khalil Gibran

Here's a wonderful parable by the great Khalil Gibran on longing, taken from The Madman (His Parables and Poems). Written from the point of view of the "madman", an individual seemingly at odds with the world and his place within it, Gibran explores themes of human kindness, alienation, and the search for ultimate truth. Kahlil Gibran was a Lebanese-American writer, poet, and visual artist in the Sufi / Christian mystic tradition.

In this multi-layered parable, Gibran lets the"madman" contemplate loneliness, the longing for love and companionship against the vastness and immeasurability of nature, time, and the universe. You can just enjoy or meditate on these profound words on self-realization and find strength, wisdom, and encouragement.

Photo by Tino Rischawy.

Transcript

Here I sit between my brother the mountain and my sister the sea.

We three are one in loneliness,

And the love that binds us together is deep and strong and strange.

Nay,

It is deeper than my sister's depth,

And stronger than my brother's strength,

And stranger than the strangeness of my madness.

Eons upon eons have passed since the first grey dawn made us visible to one another,

And though we have seen the birth and the fullness and the death of many worlds,

We are still eager and young.

We are young and eager,

And yet we are madeless and unvisited.

And though we lie in unbroken half-embrace,

We are uncomforted.

And what comfort is there for controlled desire and unspent passion?

When shall come the flaming god to warm my sister's bed?

And what sheetorrent shall quench my brother's fire?

And who is the woman that shall command my heart?

In the stillness of the night my sister murmurs in her sleep the fire god's unknown name,

And my brother calls afar upon the cool and distant goddess.

But upon whom I call in my sleep I know not.

Here I sit between my brother the mountain and my sister the sea.

We three are one in loneliness,

And the love that binds us together is deep and strong and strange.