The Playground of Life .

One hour devoted to the pursuit of Beauty
And Love is worth a full century of glory
Given by the frightened weak to the strong.
From that hour comes man's Truth;
and During that century Truth sleeps between
The restless arms of disturbing dreams.
In that hour the soul sees for herself
The Natural Law, and for that century
she Imprisons herself behind the law of man;
And she is shackled with irons of oppression.
That hour was the inspiration of the Songs Of Solomon,
an that century was the blind Power which destroyed the temple of Baalbek.
That hour was the birth of the Sermon on the Mount,
and that century wrecked the castles of Palmyra and the Tower of Babylon.
That hour was the Hegira of Mohammed and that Century forgot Allah, Golgotha, and Sinai.
One hour devoted to mourning and lamenting the Stolen
equality of the weak is nobler than a Century filled with greed and usurpation. I
t is at that hour when the heart is Purified by flaming sorrow
and Illuminated by the torch of Love.
And in that century, desires for Truth Are buried in the bosom of the earth.
That hour is the root which must flourish.
That hour of meditation, the hour of Prayer,
and the hour of a new era of good.
And that century is a life of Nero spent On
self-investment taken solely from Earthly substance. This is life.
Portrayed on the stage for ages;
Recorded earthly for centuries;
Lived in strangeness for years;
Sung as a hymn for days; Exalted but for an hour,
but the Hour is treasured by Eternity as a jewel.
(Khalil Gibran )