I missed out an important line from 'The Prophet':

"You may house their bodies, but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of to-morrow,
Which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams."

It was in fact through that expression "The House of To-morrow" that I first became aware of this quote - it had been used as a title for a book about a foster home and I read about it, and the quote, in a magazine article when I was recovering from miscarrying a much-wanted first baby. The quote, and the whole experience of desperation for a child that I was going through at the time, made me stop and really think in a very honest way about what I saw "motherhood" as being, and the ways I needed to change that view. The loss and the learning through taking this quote to heart have made me strive to be a very different mother now with my daughter from the one I would have been. I say strive, because being a parent is never easy !

- jeanie