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by Khalil Gibran (1883 - 1931)

Death
 (Sung text for setting by S. Ebel)
 Matches base text
Language: English 
Our translations:  GER
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.


Composition:

    Set to music by Steven Ebel , "Death", 2012-2014 [ soprano and piano ], from Cycle eternal, no. 3

Text Authorship:

  • by Khalil Gibran (1883 - 1931), appears in The Prophet

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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

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