Children
By Kahlil Gibran
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.
(Foto By Jessica Wuysang)
Emang ini kategorinya puisi, ya?
Hm..baru tahu.
Suka banget untaian kalimat ini waktu jadi pembuka sebuah cerpen di Aneka Ria, majalah yang sekarang udah jadi Aneka Yess! itu. Tahun 90-an, cerpennya bagus bangeeeet..berkualitas. Sayang nggak inget judul dan nama penulisnya:(
hmm…puisi itu harusnya dibaca oleh para orangtua yang masih otoriter banget ke anak-anaknya,
mereka-mereka yang menginginkan mimpinya diteruskan tanpa pernah sadar bahwa setiap anak punya mimpinya masing-masing,
mereka-mereka yang menjadikan anaknya alat pembayaran atau pemecahan masalah finansial…hanya karena mereka merasa memiliki padahal pada kenyatannya mereka juga hanya dititipi..puisi itu benar menjelaskan bahwa bagaimanapun berartinya orang tua buat anak-anaknya…
anak-anak tetap anak-anak..mahluk hidup yang berdiri sendiri dengan jiwa dan pikirannya…sesuatu yang harusnya dihargai dan bukan dieksploitasi..atau dibatasi…