Analysis of On Time
Kahlil Gibran 1883 (Bsharri, Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate) – 1931 ( New York City)
And an astronomer said, Master, what of Time?
And he answered:
You would measure time the measureless and the immeasurable.
You would adjust your conduct and even direct the course of your spirit according to hours and seasons.
Of time you would make a stream upon whose bank you would sit and watch its flowing.
Yet the timeless in you is aware of life’s timelessness,
And knows that yesterday is but today’s memory and tomorrow is today’s dream.
And that that which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space.
Who among you does not feel that his power to love is boundless?
And yet who does not feel that very love, though boundless, encompassed within the centre of his being, and moving not from love thought to love thought, nor from love deeds to other love deeds?
And is not time even as love is, undivided and spaceless?
But if in your thought you must measure time into seasons, let each season encircle all the other seasons,
And let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing.
Scheme | XXXAB AXXXXA AB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 010100110111 0110 1110101000100 110110101001011110010110010 1111101011111101110 101001101111 0111011011000011011 0111101001111001011111011001011 1011111111011110 01111111011100100101011100101111111111111011 01111011101001 110111110101101110010101010 0101010110100010110 |
Characters | 1,149 |
Words | 194 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 6, 2 |
Lines Amount | 13 |
Letters per line (avg) | 67 |
Words per line (avg) | 15 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 292 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 65 |
Font size:
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"On Time" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/54013/on-time>.
Discuss this Kahlil Gibran poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In