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You would know the secret of death. But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life? For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one. In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond; And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring. Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity. For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun? And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides? Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
Note: this is a prose text. Line breaks were added arbitrarily.
Text Authorship:
- by Khalil Gibran (1883 - 1931), appears in The Prophet [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Steven Ebel , "Death", 2012-2014 [ soprano and piano ], from Cycle eternal, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2019-03-20
Line count: 21
Word count: 150
Ihr möchtet über das Geheimnis des Todes wissen. Aber wie wollt ihr ihm denn auf die Spur kommen, wenn ihr nicht mitten im Leben danach sucht? Denn Leben und Tod gehören zusammen, so wie Strom und Meer. In den tiefsten Gründen eures Hoffens und Sehnens ruht stumm euer Wissen vom Jenseits. Und wie die Saat unter dem Schnee träumt, träumt euer Herz vom Frühling. Traut den Träumen, denn in ihnen findet ihr das verborgene Tor zur Ewigkeit. Denn was ist Sterben anderes als nackt im Wind zu stehen und sich in der Sonne aufzulösen? Und was ist der letzte Atemzug anderes als die Freiheit des Atems vom ruhelosen Auf und Ab? Nur wenn ihr vom Strom der Stille trinkt, werdet ihr wahrlich singen. Und wenn ihr den Gipfel erreicht habt, werdet ihr aufsteigen. Und wenn die Erde euren Leib fordern wird, werdet ihr wahrhaft tanzen.
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Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2021 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann. Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
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Based on:
- a text in English by Khalil Gibran (1883 - 1931), appears in The Prophet
This text was added to the website: 2021-02-26
Line count: 21
Word count: 145