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Kahlil Gibran

Lebanese-American poet and artist, author of The Prophet, 1883–1931. 1 explained quote.

Photograph of Kahlil Gibran, 1913
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“Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.”
Kahlil Gibran · 1923
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“Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.”
Kahlil Gibran · The Prophet, “On Children” · 1923 · Poet

Parents bring children into the world and love them, but do not own them. Children have their own thoughts and their own future, and a parent's job is to send them forward, like a bow sending an arrow.

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About Kahlil Gibran

Kahlil Gibran was born in what is now Lebanon and emigrated to Boston as a child. He wrote in Arabic and English and was also a painter. The Prophet (1923), a book of short poetic sermons on love, marriage, children, work and death, has sold millions of copies and is one of the most read books of poetry in the world.