The Coming of the Ship

-from The Prophet
by Kahlil Gibran

Now when he reached the foot of the hill, he turned again towards the sea, and he saw his ship approaching the harbour, and upon her prow the mariners, the men of his own land.

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And his soul cried out to them, and he said:

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Sons of my ancient mother, you riders of the tides,

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How often have you sailed in my dreams. And now you come in my awakening, which is my deeper dream.

Ready am I to go, and my eagerness with sails full set awaits the wind.

Only another breath will I breathe in this still air, only another loving look cast backward,

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And then I shall stand among you, a seafarer among seafarers. And you, vast sea, sleepless mother,

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Who alone are peace and freedom to the river and the stream,

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Only another winding will this stream make, only another murmur in this glade,

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And then shall I come to you, a boundless drop to a boundless ocean.