On Children

Your children are not your children
They are the sons and daughters of life's longing for itself
They come through you, not from you
Though they are with you, they belong to themselves

You may give them your love but not your thoughts
For they have thoughts for their own
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 the bow that is stable
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness
For even as he loves the arrow that flies
So he loves the bow that is stable