Kahlil Gibran Poem, The Forerunner, Love, Morning Thoughts

Kahlil Gibran

I checked to see if some of Kahlil Gibran's work is in the public domain. There are a few things. Most are still under copyright. This is not. I am currently reading Kahlil Gibran's collected works. It will take me quite a bit of time to read his poetry. I won't do it all at once. I will read his poetry while reading other things. Poetry is often one of those things which is best approached in snippets and read over time.

From The Forerunner,

Love

They say the jackal and the mole
Drink from the self-same stream
Where the lion comes to drink.

And they say the eagle and the vulture
Dig their beaks into the same carcass,
And are at peace, one with the other,
In the presence of the dead thing.

O love, whose lordly hand
Has bridled my desires,
And raised my hunger and my thirst
To dignity and pride,
Let not the strong in me and the constant
Eat the bread or drink the wine
That tempt my weaker self.
Let me rather starve,
And let my heart parch with thirst,
And let me die and perish,
Ere I stretch my hand
To a cup you did not fill,
Or a bowl you did not bless.

Thoughts for Today

Last night while I was reading at the laundromat someone asked about the book I was reading Superclass. She said, it looked like one of those new books which you get from the library. I told her it was a nice book to read. So, I actually got to read a bit at the laundromat. There is nothing like sitting in a hard plastic chair, sipping watermelon juice and reading.

Because someone asked about it, this is the link to Paulo Coelho's blog http://paulocoelhoblog.com/

Today is starting off in an interesting way. I am going to ask SCORE-- Servce Corps of Retired Executives to do a marketing seminar at our library in May or June. A patron (customer) asked for it.

I was also reading http://www.locusmag.com/ and noticed an interesting book in their new books section. Space Vulture by Gary K. Wolf and Archbishop John J. Meyers. Gary K. Wolf is the author of Who Censored Roger Rabbit, the basis for the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I am a little bit surprised that an archbishop is writing a swashbuckling science fiction adventure in the tradition of the 1950's. It sounds like a lot of fun.

I got a very exciting package today from New Jersey. It was in a brown paper envelope. It contained the Super Librarian comic book, one copy in english, and one copy in spanish, plus a business card from Nancy Dowd the creator of the marketing campaign around Super Librarian. This is a great way to draw teenagers who wouldn't otherwise read into the library. The comic book is quite short and very easy to read.

This is an online link to the Super Librarian comic:

http://web.mac.com/ndowd/iWeb/Super%20Librarian%20Free%20Comic%20Book%20Day/Comic%20Book%20Full%20Color.html

Two books came in for me today, so I have a backlog of books to read. The first is Kahlil Gibran The Collected Including The Prophet. I am not sure how Kahlil Gibran compares to Rumi. They have very different philosophical views on religion and mysticism. They, however, are both poets. At one time, Kahlil Gibran was one of the most popular poets in the United States. I remember reading The Prophet while I was in high school. It was one of the books in my fathers library. This particular edition is printed on acid free paper, the book stills crinkles in its newness when you turn the pages.

The second book looking at is a complete surprise. It is called Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow. It is a modern werewolf story written in free verse style. This is the style of Gilgamesh or The Green Night. The cover picture and the design of the book is very cool.