On Time
And an astronomer said, Master, what of Time?
And he answered:
You would measure time the measurelessand the immeasurable.
You would adjust your conduct andeven direct the course of your spiritaccording to hours and seasons.
Of time you would make a stream uponwhose bank you would sit and watch itsflowing.
Yet the timeless in you is aware oflife’s timelessness,
And knows that yesterday is but today’smemory and tomorrow is today’s dream.
And that that which sings andcontemplates in you is still dwellingwithin the bounds of that first momentwhich scattered the stars into space.
Who among you does not feel that hispower to love is boundless?
And yet who does not feel that verylove, though boundless, encompassedwithin the centre of his being, andmoving not from love thought to lovethought, nor from love deeds to otherlove deeds?
And is not time even as love is,undivided and paceless?
But if in your thought you must measuretime into seasons, let each seasonencircle all the other seasons,
And let today embrace the past withremembrance and the future with longing.
Words in this poem
- measureless a.
- Without measure; unlimited; immeasurable.
- timeless a.
- Done at an improper time; unseasonable; untimely.
- tomorrow adv.
- On the day after the present day; on the next day; on the morrow. [Prep. to + morrow.]
- centre v. i.
- To be placed in a center; to be central.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On Time is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Prophet, Project Gutenberg ebook #58585; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Kahlil Gibran, On Time, in The Prophet (1923), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #58585, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/gibran-prophet/on-time.html, id L27274.
About this section
On Time is prose, printed in 13 paragraphs. It is part of the edition and is kept for reading, but nothing here is measured: the line breaks are the printer's, so no metre, rhyme scheme or scansion is stated.
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