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Khalil Gibran - Song Of Fortune VI
Work rating: Low

Man and I are sweethearts 
He craves me and I long for him, 
But alas! Between us has appeared 
A rival who brings us misery. 
She is cruel and demanding, 
Possessing empty lure. 
Her name is Substance. 
She follows wherever we go 
And watches like a sentinel, bringing 
Restlessness to my lover. 


I ask for my beloved in the forest, 
Under the trees, by the lakes. 
I cannot find him, for Substance 
Has spirited him to the clamorous 
City and placed him on the throne 
Of quaking, metal riches. 


I call for him with the voice of 
Knowledge and the song of Wisdom. 
He does not hearken, for Substance 
Has enticed him into the dungeon 
Of selfishness, where avarice dwells. 


I seek him in the field of Contentment, 
But I am alone, for my rival has 
Imprisoned him in the cave of gluttony 
And greed, and locked him there 
With painful chains of gold. 


I call to him at dawn, when Nature smiles, 
But he does not hear, for excess has 
Laden his drugged eyes with sick slumber. 


I beguile him at eventide, when Silence rules 
And the flowers sleep. But he responds not, 
For his fear over what the morrow will Bring, 
shadows his thoughts. 


He yearns to love me; 
He asks for me in this own acts. But he 
Will find me not except in God`s acts. 
He seeks me in the edifices of his glory 
Which he has built upon the bones of others; 
He whispers to me from among 
His heaps of gold and silver; 
But he will find me only by coming to 
The house of Simplicity which God has built 
At the brink of the stream of affection. 


He desires to kiss me before his coffers, 
But his lips will never touch mine except 
In the richness of the pure breeze. 


He asks me to share with him his 
Fabulous wealth, but I will not forsake God`s 
Fortune; I will not cast off my cloak of beauty. 


He seeks deceit for medium; I seek only 
The medium of his heart. 
He bruises his heart in his narrow cell; 
I would enrich his heart with all my love. 


My beloved has learned how to shriek and 
Cry for my enemy, Substance; I would 
Teach him how to shed tears of affection 
And mercy from the eyes of his soul 
For all things, 
And utter sighs of contentment through 
Those tears. 


Man is my sweetheart; 
I want to belong to him.
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