Kahlil Gibran, poeta e filósofo

 poema dedicado aos filhos, dirigido aos pais  - tradução, aqui

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of children."

And he said:

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters

of Life’s longing for itself.

They come through you

but not from you,

And though they are with you,

yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love,

but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies

but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the

house of tomorrow,

which you cannot visit, not

 even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them,

but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward

nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which

 your children as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon

 the path of the infinite,

and He bends you with His might

that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the Archer’s hand be

for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies,

so He loves the bow that is stable.

in 'The Prophet ' 

by Kahlil Gibran

Caminho eternamente sobre estas margens, entre a areia e a espuma.

O fluxo do mar apagará a impressão dos meus passos,
e o vento levará a espuma.
Mas o mar e a margem permanecerão eternamente.

pintura e auto-retrato, por K. Gibran