Did Kahlil Gibran write the poem “Fear”? – 2/3 – “The Procession”

Vahe H Apelian

“Fear” appears to be a popular poem. In my previous blog about the poem (see the link below), I posted two copies from different sources. One claimed that the poem is by Khalil Gibran and the other claimed that it is by Kahlil Gibran.

I doubt that the poem is written by Gibran Khalil Gibran. It does not make sense to me for reasons I elaborated in my previous blog. In order to find if the poem indeed is cited among Kahlil Gibran’s work, I purchased a copy of the Collected Works of Kahlil Gibran. The book is “a collection of some of Gibran’s best loved writings”. Consequently, it is not a complete collection of his literary works. The book is 631 pages long. The content lists 12 books. I did not come across the poem “Fear” in the Collected Works of Kahlil.Gibran book.

Someone told me that it is from Gibran’s other work, The Procession.  Determined to find the source of the poem “Fear”, I purchased a copy of the book. It is 111 pages long. The book is “edited, translated, and with a biographical sketch by George Kheirrallah”.  It is dedicated “To the sons and daughters of Lebanon”. The book is comprised of the “Life of Gibran Khalil Gibran”, followed by “The Procession of Gibran”. The editor noted that: “In 1919 Gibran surprised friends by issuing at his own expense, a beautiful and artistic book containing The Procession, his hidden masterpiece in Arabic poetry. The paper, the type of illustrations and binding all bespoke the tender regard and care that Gibran had bestowed upon this unique child."

The Procession is a translatory work. “An old sage, worldly-wise and ripened by experience, had left the city to wander in the countryside, and wearily rested himself at the edge of the forest; a naked, sun-bronzed youth emerged from the forest, reed in hand, to throw himself in abandon. The editor claims that The Procession is the opus magnus in Arabic poetry.

In 1919, Gibran published his first wok in English, The Madman, followed by The Forerunner in 1920, and in 1923 his masterpiece The Prophet  that catapulted Gibran to literary stratosphere. 

 The Procession, in Arabic may be regarded the precursor of The Prophet in English. It is comprised of the following poems. “Fear” is not listed among them.

Of Religion

Of Justice

Of Will and Right

Of Science and Knowledge

Of Freedom

Of Happiness and Hope

Of Gentleness

Of love

Of Soul and Fertility

Of Death and Immortality

The Summing of the Youth

The Capitulation of the Sage.

I failed to locate the source of the poem “Fear”. I doubt that Gibran Khalil Gibran wrote the poem, contrary to the claims. If any of the readers of this blog can cite the source of the poem “Fear” from Gibran Khalil Gibran’s works, I will be grateful. I will grudgingly admit that Kahlil Gibran indeed wrote the poem but my perception of the poem will not change. All I will say is that Kahlil Gibram stumbled in writing that none-sensical poem titled “Fear”. But that does not mean that he will be less of the writer to me. At times, the greatest among us also stumbles. After all, we all are humans and to err is human.

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Link: 

Did Kahlil Gibran write the poem “Fear”? – 2/2 – “Collected Works”

http://vhapelian.blogspot.com/2024/07/did-kahlil-gibran-write-poem-fear-22.html