Earth
How beautiful you are, Earth, and how sublime!
How perfect your obedience to the light and how noble is your submission to the sun.
I have walked over your plains,
I have climbed your stony mountains
I have descended into your valleys;
I have entered into your caves.
On the plains, I have discovered your dreams,
On the mountains, I have admired your splendid presence.
And in the valleys, I have observed your tranquility;
In the caves, I have touched your mysteries.
We pierce your bosom with swords and spears.
And you dress our wounds with oil and balsam
We plant your fields with skulls and bones.
And from them, you rear cypress and willow trees,
We empty our wastes in your bosom and you fill
Our threshing floors with wheat sheaves,
And our winepresses with grapes.
We extract your elements to make
Cannons and bombs but out of
Our elements you create lilies and roses
How patient you are Earth, and how merciful!
Are you an atom of dust raised by
The feet of God when He journeyed from
The East to the West of the Universe?
Who are you, Earth, and what are you?
You are "I", Earth!
You are my sight and my discernment.
You are my knowledge and my dream
You are my hunger and my thirst.
You are my sorrow and my joy.
You are the beauty that lives in my eyes
The longing in my heart, the everlasting life in my soul!
You are ”I” Earth,
Had it not been for my being,
You would not have been!
-Khalil Gibran
Explanation
This poem is an expression of thankfulness to the mother earth. It is an extract from “The Eye of the Prophet.”
The poem commences by praising how beautiful, great and grand the earth was and how her obedience and submission were both perfect and noble.
He says that he has walked over the plains, and climbed rocky mountains. He has descended into the valleys and explored the caves. The poet is able to see the earth’s dream manifested in the plains and her magnificent presence in the mountains. The valleys were tranquil and the caves were mysterious for him.
The race of human beings battle amongst themselves and wound themselves with spears and swords. It is equivalent to wounding the mother nature’s bosom. Still, she provides them oil giving trees and balsam. We strew the battlefield with skulls, bones but she responds by giving us spring cypress and willow trees. We bury our wastes in her soil, but she fills the soil with wheat and the vineyards with grapes.
We dig into the bowels of the earth for ores and metals and create guns and bombs, but the mother earth produces lilies and roses (in the graveyard) from the elements of the humans. He exclaims that the earth is patient and merciful and wonders if she is an atom of dust raised by the feet of God when he traveled from the East to the West of the great universe.
The poet identifies himself with the earth. He says she is his eyesight and realization, his knowledge and his dream, his hunger and thirst, sorrow and joy, the beauty in his eyes yearning in his hearts, and the undying soul and says if he had not been there; the earth could not have been there.
How beautiful you are, Earth, and how sublime!
How perfect your obedience to the light and how noble is your submission to the sun.
The poet praises the earth being very beautiful and grand, and being perfect in her obedience to light and noble in her submission
to the great sun.
I have walked over your plains,
I have climbed your stony mountains
I have descended into your valleys;
I have entered into your caves.
The poet says he has walked over her plains, climbed rocky mountains, and climbed down into her valleys and entered the caves.
On the plains, I have discovered your dreams,
On the mountains, I have admired your splendid presence.
And in the valleys, I have observed your tranquility;
In the caves, I have touched your mysteries.
He finds that the plains are mother earth's dreams, and realises her presence in the mountains; in the valley he observes her serenity
and in the caves he touches her mysteries in thier depth.
We pierce your bosom with swords and spears.
And you dress our wounds with oil and balsam
We fight with each other, and wound ourselves with swords and spears. We trample the earth mercilessly. But in turn the earth dresses our wounds with
healing oil and balsam.
We plant your fields with skulls and bones.
And from them, you rear cypress and willow trees,
We litter mother earth with corpses and bury the dead in her fields. But she responds by giving us cypress and willow trees.
We empty our wastes in your bosom and you fill
Our threshing floors with wheat sheaves,
And our winepresses with grapes.
We empty the human wastes into the soil, and she fills the soil with wheat and vineyards.
We extract your elements to make
Cannons and bombs but out of
Our elements you create lilies and roses
We dig up her ores and metals and create weapons of destruction like guns and bombs, but out of our elements she creates lilies,
and roses.
How patient you are Earth, and how merciful!
Are you an atom of dust raised by
The feet of God when He journeyed from
The East to the West of the Universe?
The poet explains how patient and merciful mother earth is towards humanity. He asks if she is an atom or speck of dust raised
by God's feet when He journeyed from the East to the West of the great universe.
Who are you, Earth, and what are you?
You are "I", Earth!
The poet asks the earth who she is and identifies himself with her, saying he and she are the same.
You are my sight and my discernment.
You are my knowledge and my dream
You are my hunger and my thirst.
You are my sorrow and my joy.
He declares that she is his sight or vision and realisation, his knowledge, his dream, his hunger and thirst, and his sorrow and joy.
You are the beauty that lives in my eyes
The longing in my heart, the everlasting life in my soul!
You are ”I” Earth,
Had it not been for my being,
You would not have been!
He concludes that she is the beauty that lives in her eyes, the yearning of his heart and everlasting life in his soul. He says that she and he are the same, and if it had not been for his being she would not have been.
Balsam - A pleasent-smelling liquid or resin-like substance obtained from certain trees.
Discernment - Realisation
Mystery - Difficult to explain or understand
Sublime - Grand and great
Submission - Humbleness
Splendid - Magnificient
Sheaves - A bundle of corn
Tranquility - Peacefulness
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