Freedom XIV
And an orator said, "Speak to us of Freedom
" And he answered:
At the city gate and by your fireside I have seen you prostrate yourself and worship your own freedom,
Even as slaves humble themselves before a tyrant and pra...
And an orator said, "Speak to us of Freedom
" And he answered:
At the city gate and by your fireside I have seen you prostrate yourself and worship your own freedom,
Even as slaves humble themselves before a tyrant and pra...
Love one another, but make not a bond of love
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls
Fill each other's cup, but drink not from one cup
Give one another of your bread, but eat not from the same loaf
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
Then Almitra spoke again and said, "And what of Marriage, master
" And he answered saying:
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore
You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days
Then said a rich man, "Speak to us of Giving
" And he answered:
You give but little when you give of your possessions
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give
And an old priest said, "Speak to us of Religion
" And he said:
Have I spoken this day of aught else
Is not religion all deeds and all reflection,
And a merchant said, "Speak to us of Buying and Selling
" And he answered and said:
To you the earth yields her fruit, and you shall not want if you but know how to fill your hands
It is in exchanging the gifts of the eart...
And one of the elders of the city said, "Speak to us of Good and Evil
" And he answered:
Of the good in you I can speak, but not of the evil
For what is evil but good tortured by its own hunger and thirst
Where are you, my beloved
Are you in that little Paradise, watering the flowers who look upon you As infants look upon the breast of their mothers
Or are you in your chamber where the shrine of Virtue has been placed in your honor, and u...
In the stillest hour of the night, as I lay half asleep, my seven selves sat together and thus conversed in whisper:
First Self:
Here, in this madman,
I have dwelt all these years, with naught to do but renew his pain by day and rec...
Then an old man, a keeper of an inn, said, "Speak to us of Eating and Drinking
" And he said:
Would that you could live on the fragrance of the earth, and like an air plant be sustained by the light
But since you must kill...
As the Sun withdrew his rays from the garden, and the moon threw cushioned beams upon the flowers,
I sat under the trees pondering upon the phenomena of the atmosphere, looking through the branches at the strewn stars which glittered like chi...