About the Poet: Kahlil Gibran
Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) was a Lebanese-American artist and poet. His poems are often called "poetic essays" because they do not follow the usual rules of rhyme and metre.
- His best-known work is The Prophet (1923), a book of 26 prose poems.
- The Prophet has been translated into more than 25 languages, including Kannada.
- "On Children" is a selection from The Prophet.
The setting of The Prophet. A wise man, the Prophet (named Almustafa in the book), is about to leave the city where he has lived for many years. Before he sails, the people gather and ask him to speak on different subjects of life - love, marriage, work, joy and sorrow, and children. Each answer forms one poem.
[Exam Tip] — In the opening line, "he" refers to the Prophet, not the poet and not the woman's child.
Summary
A woman holding a baby asks the Prophet to speak about children. His answer challenges the usual ideas parents have about their children.
1. Children do not belong to their parents. "Your children are not your children." They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself - they are created by life's desire to continue. They come through parents but not from them, and though they live with their parents, they do not belong to them.
2. Parents can give love, not thoughts. Parents may give children their love but not their thoughts, because children have their own thoughts. Parents may house their bodies (give them shelter) but not their souls, because children's souls live in the "house of tomorrow" - a future the parents cannot visit, even in dreams.
3. Learn from children; do not mould them. Parents may try to be like their children, but should not try to make children like themselves, because life goes forward, not backward.
4. The bow and the arrows. Parents are the bows, and children are living arrows sent forward. God, the archer, sees the target on the path of the infinite and bends the bow with His might so that the arrows fly swift and far. Parents should bend gladly in the archer's hand, because God loves the flying arrow and also the stable bow.
Central Idea
The poem is a gentle critique of possessive parenting.
- Children are independent individuals with their own thoughts, souls and future.
- The duty of parents is to love, shelter and support - not to own, control or live their own dreams through their children.
- Parents are like a steady bow: their strength and stability help the children go far. Their role is as valuable as the child's, and God loves both.
The poem also carries a spiritual idea: children ultimately belong to Life and to God (the archer), and parents are the means through which life moves forward.
[Exam Tip] — In 2025, a 4-mark question asked how Gibran justifies that parents should not be possessive or try to live their dreams through their children. Build the answer around four ideas: "not your children", "love but not thoughts", "house of tomorrow", and the bow and arrows.