The Flirtations

Your children
Are not your children.
They are the sons and the daughters
Of life long before itself.
They come through you, but they are not from you,
And though they are with you, they belong not to you.

You can give them your love, but not your thoughts;
They have their own thoughts, they have their own thoughts.
You can house their bodies, but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the place of tomorrow,
Which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You can try to be like them, but you cannot make them just like you.
Strive to be like them, but you cannot make them just like you.

Your children
Are not your children.
They are the sons and the daughters
Of life long before itself.
They come through you, but they are not from you,
And though they are with you, they belong not to you.

You can give them your love, but not your thoughts;
They have their own thoughts, they have their own thoughts.
You can house their bodies, but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the place of tomorrow,
Which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You can try to be like them, but you cannot make them just like you.
Strive to be like them, but you cannot make them just like you