You are the bow. Your children are living arrows.
Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet (1923), On Children
You are the bow. Your children are living arrows.
Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet (1923), On Children
What it means
Parents launch children; they do not own their flight. Gibran says children belong to life's longing for itself. Bend well and let them go far.
The source
"You are the bow. Your children are living arrows." Kahlil Gibran said it in The Prophet (1923), On Children. Written in English: The Prophet, 1923.
"You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth."Original English (The Prophet, 1923), The Prophet (1923), On Children. Text read at gutenberg.org.
Who said it
Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931). Lebanese-American poet and painter. The Prophet (1923), written in English, is a set of short sermons on love, work, pain and freedom.
Questions
- What does "You are the bow. Your children are living arrows." mean?
- Parents launch children; they do not own their flight. Gibran says children belong to life's longing for itself. Bend well and let them go far.
- Who said "You are the bow. Your children are living arrows."?
- Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931). Source: The Prophet (1923), On Children.
- What is the original wording?
- You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth (Original English (The Prophet, 1923)). Written in English: The Prophet, 1923.
- Is "You are the bow. Your children are living arrows." on a shirt?
- Yes. We print it to order on our tees in 7 illustrated looks, from $44, with free US shipping.
Cite this line
"You are the bow. Your children are living arrows." (Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet (1923), On Children, trans. Original English (The Prophet, 1923)). https://spartansurfers.com/quotes/you-are-the-bow-your-children-are-living
Filed under Light.
Wear it your way
The same line in every look it fits. Each one is printed to order on heavy cotton, same price.
More from Kahlil Gibran
- Work is love made visible.The Prophet (1923), On Work
- The deeper sorrow carves into you, the more joy you can hold.The Prophet (1923), On Joy and Sorrow
- Let there be spaces in your togetherness.The Prophet (1923), On Marriage
- Stand together, not too near. The pillars of the temple stand apart.The Prophet (1923), On Marriage
- You give little when you give possessions. Give of yourself.The Prophet (1923), On Giving
- Pain is the breaking of the shell around your understanding.The Prophet (1923), On Pain