Epic of Khalil
Son
If this is the last time we talk
If this is the last time we hug
If this is the last time our eyes meet
If this is the last of you and I
If this is it
Remember your impermanence
My Son
You are Khalil
Namesake of the Friend of God
You are Son of Ibrahim
Namesake of the Exalted Father
You are Khalil Jubran
Namesake of a Seer of Beauty, Wisdom, and Possibility
Remember your name
Khalil
O Firstborn
Of Firstborn
Of Firstborn
Of Firstborn
Long is your line
O Descendant
Of caretaker upon caretaker
Of the endless groves
Of the honored olives
Of the fertile soils
Of Sacred Pilistu
Ancient is your line
O Great Grandchild
Of Tribesman upon tribesman
Of the hardened clans
Of the unforgiving clean
Of the parched generosity
Of the infinite dunes
Of alluring Arabia
Resilient is your line
Remember your ancestors
Khalil Jubran
Son of Sumer
Son of Akkad
Son of Assyria
Son of Canaan
Son of Phoenicia
Son of Sacred Land
Your kinsmen abound
Sons of Persia
Sons of Arabia
Sons of Egypt
Sons of Europa
There is more to your story
than the Epic of Gilgamesh
There is more to your history
than they will ever relay to you
There is more to you
than you’ll ever know
All are with and for you
Remember your heritage
Son
When your Spirit Yearns
When your Demons Haunt
When your Habits Beckon
Know that
The religions of Abraham
The traditions of the Dharma
The spirituality of the Indigenous
All have shaped you through me
Receive their gifts
Take in their joy
Cherish their wisdom
See their trauma
Forgive them as they exclude you
Ostracize you
Disdain you
Smile as they promise you eternity in heaven or hell
Or many lifetimes of suffering
Or an abrupt cessation to your very existence
Have grace if they choose to meet your spaciousness
With aggression
With meanness
With hostility
And
There are those who share in your journey
You have what you need
Your allies
Your teachers
Your companions
Your refuge
Your breath
Show up
Lean into life to the fullest
Rest in question
In wonder
In gratitude
In forgiveness
In equanimity
That is your practice
Remember your lineage
Young Being
You remind me of me
Remember your impermanence
Remember your name
Remember your ancestors
Remember your heritage
Remember your lineage
Remember your freedom
And
Perhaps with a most deceptively simple ease
Remember to remember
Son
I absolve you of my sins
You need not carry them
I relieve you of my duties
You need not avenge your ancestors, your land, your story
I liberate you from my burdens
You need not seek justice, restore balance, reclaim the lost, or right wrongs
I emancipate you from the shackles of my story
You need not like it
You need not hate it
You need not acknowledge it
You need not even know it
You need not hide, escape, ignore
You need not change or dance with identity
You need not wear the veil of apathy
Its gifts
Its trauma
Its yearnings for meaning, identity, achievement
Take what you need
Leave the rest
And go
Go write your own story
The Epic of Khalil
Remember you are free