Kahlil Gibran on the Art of Becoming Yourself Across the Sweep of Life

The Marginalian reflects on Kahlil Gibran's poem 'Youth and Age,' written in his early forties shortly after completing The Prophet. Gibran contrasts the restless sadness of youth with the patient awe of maturity, describing how the seasons of life transform longing into belonging. The piece draws on his metaphor of flower and fruit, and his realization that winter brings renewal. Gibran concludes that he would live his youth and its pain again, because today all is radiant and near.

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