April 1

He was a poet. He saw for our eyes and heard for our ears, and our silent words were upon His lips; and His fingers touched what we could not feel.

Out of his heart there flew countless singing birds to the north and to the south, and the little flowers on the hillsides stayed His steps towards the heavens.

Oftentimes I have seen Him bending down to touch the blades of grass. And in my heart I have heard Him say, Little green things, you shall be with me in my kingdom. Even as the oaks of Besan, and the cedars of Lebanon.

He loved a pomegranate or a cup of wine given Him in kindness; it mattered not whether it was offered by a stranger in the inn or by a rich host.

And He loved almond blossoms. I have seen Him gathering them into His hands and covering His face with the petals, as though he would embrace with His love all the trees in the world.

He knew the sea and the heavens; and He spoke of pearls which have light that is not of this light, and of stars that are beyond our night.

He knew the mountains as eagles know them, and the streams. And there was a desert in His silence and a garden in His speech.

Aye, He was a poet whose heart dwelt in a bower beyond the heights, and His songs though sung for our ears, were sung for other ears also, and to men [and women] in another land where life is forever young and time is always dawn.

Once I too deemed myself a poet, but when I stood before Him in Bethany, I knew what it is hold an instrument with but a single string before one who commands all instruments. For in His voice there was the laughter of thunder and the tears of rain, and the joyous dancing of trees in the wind. …

Rumanous, A Greek Poet – Kahil Gibran from Jesus The Son of Man