10 Inspirational Quotes from Kahlil Gibran

Last year, when I released my book (After the Fires of Day: Haiku Inspired by Kahlil Gibran & Alphonse de Lamartine), many potential readers kept contacting me to ask for more information about the two men mentioned in the title.

Initially, the question took me by surprise. And then, the more I read or heard it, the more I realized that an introduction was needed.

So, welcome to the After the Fires of Day Series, part 1.

The first few posts in this series will focus on Kahlil Gibran.

One of the greatest writers of the 20th century, Gibran is also remembered as an amazing painter. He is the artist who has influenced my own work the most. I re-read one of his books at least once a year, and feel inspired each time! The Prophet is my personal Bible. There is wisdom in every line…

(I will share my review of this incredible book with you in a future post.)

Today, I would like to brighten your day with 10 beautiful quotes from Gibran's books.

I AM FOREVER walking upon these shores,

Betwixt the sand and the foam,

The high tide will erase my foot-prints,

And the wind will blow away the foam.

But the sea and the shore will remain

Forever.

From Sand and Foam — A Book of Aphorisms (1926)

You are your own forerunner, you the stranger passing by the gate of my garden.

And I too am my own forerunner, though I sit in the shadows of my trees and seem motionless.

From The Forerunner — His Parables and Poems (1920)

My mariners and my friends, it were wiser to speak less of God, whom we cannot understand, and more of each other, whom we may understand. Yet I would have you know that we are the breath and the fragrance of God. We are God, in leaf, in flower, and oftentimes in fruit.

From The Garden of the Prophet (1933)

I WAS,

And I am.

So shall I be to the end of time,

For I am without end.

From “The Hymn of Man,” A Tear and a Smile (1914)

Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.

From The Prophet (1923)

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.

And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.

And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

From The Prophet (1923)

It was but yesterday I thought myself a fragment quivering without rhythm in the sphere of life.

Now I know that I am the sphere, and all life in rhythmic fragments moves within me.

From Sand and Foam — A Book of Aphorisms (1926)

Let there be spaces in your togetherness,

And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another but make not a bond of love:

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

From The Prophet (1923)

You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.

From The Prophet (1923)

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

From The Prophet (1923)

I hope you enjoyed the quotes I selected for you. Do you have any other favorites? Feel free to share them with me on Twitter. I'm @haiku_shack.

Interested in checking out After the Fires of Day: Haiku Inspired by Kahlil Gibran & Alphonse de Lamartine? Click the link below.

That's it for today! Thank you for reading!

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Cendrine Marrouat is a writer, photographer, podcaster, blogger, anthology editor, and the co-founder of Auroras & Blossoms and A Warm Cup of Cozy. She has authored and co-authored more than 40 books, including The Train: A Short Story (2023), In Her Own Words: A Collection of Short Stories & Flashku (2022), After the Fires of Day: Haiku Inspired by Kahlil Gibran & Alphonse de Lamartine (2021), Rhythm Flourishing: A Collection of Kindku and Sixku (2020), Walks: A Collection of Haiku (2019-2020), and In the Silence of Words: A Three-Act Play (2018).

Cendrine's work has appeared in many publications. She is the creator of the Sixku, Flashku, Sepigram, and Reminigram; as well as the co-creator of the Kindku, Pareiku, Vardhaku, and Hemingku.