Selection from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
Beauty is not a need but an ecstasy.
It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth
But rather a heart enflamed and a soul enchanted.
It is not the image you would see nor the song you would hear,
but rather an image you see though you close your eyes
and a song you hear though you shut your ears
It is not the sap within the furrowed bark, nor a wing attached to a claw,
But rather a garden forever in bloom and
a flock of angels forever in flight.
Beauty is life when life unveils her holy face.
But you are life and you are the veil.
Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.
But you are not eternity and you are the mirror.