Prophet (version 3)

<p><SPAN name="link90" id="link90"></SPAN>Then Almitra spoke, saying, We would ask now of <b><i>Death</i></b>.</p> <p>And he said:</p> <p>You would know the secret of death.</p> <p>But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?</p> <p>The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.</p> <p>If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.</p> <p>For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.</p> <p>In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;</p> <p>And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.</p> <p>Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity. <SPAN name="link91"></SPAN>Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.</p> <p>Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?</p> <p>Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?</p> <p class="p2"> For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?</p> <p>And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?</p> <p>Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.</p> <p>And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.</p> <p>And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.</p> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />