kevin Kern-through the arbor
The Visit of Wisdom
In the quiet of the night Wisdom came and stood beside
my bed, gazing at me like a doting mother. She wiped away
my tears and said, “I heard the cry of your soul and came
to solace you. Open your heart to me, that I might fill it
with light. Ask me, and I shall show you the path of truth.”
What are these thoughts that
pass like a flock of doves? What is this speech, ordered
in affection and scattered in delight?
What are these consequences that sadden and enrapture, that
embrace my spirit and besiege my heart?
What is this youth, who
plays with my desires, mock my sentiments, forgets the deeds
of yesterday, rejoices in the trivialities of the moment,
and loathes the tardiness of tomorrow?
Khalil Gibran 
I said, ‘Who am I, O Wisdom, and how did I arrive in this
ghastly place? What are these powerful longings, numerous
books, and eldritch markings?
What are these eyes fixed upon me, that gaze upon my innermost
self and ignore my pain? What are these voices mourning over
my days, singing of my childhood?
What is this world that is hastening
me toward I know not what, viewing me with contempt?
What is this earth, its mouth gaping to swallow bodies,
whose bosom offers relief to the abode of ambition?
What is this person who acquiesces in loving happiness,
but accepts hell if he cannot attain it;
who seeks
the kiss of life and receives the blows of death;
who buys a moment of pleasure with a year of regrets;
who
surrenders to the slumber and dreams that call to him;
who walks along the canals of ignorance to the gulf
of darkness? What are all these things, O Wisdom?’
neighbor, and you will see a child bedazzled by the fire's
rays, while the mother busies herself with housework.
Imitate the bee and do not spend the days of spring gazing
upon the deeds of the eagle. Be as the child and delight in
the flame's brightness, and pay no heed to your mother and her affairs.
The speech they weave is a link between
you and your human siblings. The consequences that cause
sorrow and rapture are the seeds that the past has sown in
the field of the soul, and by which the future shall profit...
She said,“You desire, O mortal, to view this world through
the eyes of a god, and wish to comprehend the mysteries
and this is the utmost folly. Go out into the open country,
and you will find the bee hovering over flowers and
the eagle picking apart its prey. Enter the house of your
“All that you see was and is for your sake. The numerous books,
uncanny markings, and beautiful thoughts are the ghosts of
souls who preceded you.
This youth who plays with your desires is the very same person
who opened the door of your heart so as to flood it with light.
This earth with its
gaping maw is the one who delivers you from bondage to your
body.
This world that hastens you is your heart, and your
heart is all that you conceive of as a world. The person
you consider ignorant and insignificant is the one who came
from God, that he might learn bliss from grief and knowledge from gloom.”
Wisdom placed her hand on my feverish forehead and said, “Advance and never halt, for advancing is perfection. Advance and do not fear the thorns in the path, for they draw only corrupt blood.”
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