Let there be spaces in your togetherness.

This line comes from Kahlil Gibran’s prose-poem “On Marriage” in The Prophet (1923), a book framed as the farewell counsel of Almustafa to the people of Orphalese. Written in Gibran’s characteristic biblical cadence during his mature period in the United States, The Prophet reflects early-20th-century spiritual eclecticism and a critique of possessive social norms. In “On Marriage,” Gibran addresses couples who seek guidance on love and union, urging a bond that preserves individuality rather than dissolving it. The image of “spaces” is part of a larger sequence of metaphors (pillars, temple, strings of a lute) meant to reimagine marriage as companionship without domination.

“Let there be spaces in your togetherness” argues that intimacy thrives when partners remain distinct persons. Gibran rejects the idea that love proves itself through constant closeness, surveillance, or ownership; instead, he frames healthy union as a rhythm of nearness and distance that allows growth, freedom, and dignity. The “spaces” are not emotional coldness but room for solitude, independent thought, friendships, and personal vocation—conditions that prevent love from becoming coercion. The line’s paradox is central: togetherness is strengthened, not weakened, by boundaries. In modern terms, it anticipates discussions of autonomy, interdependence, and the dangers of enmeshment in romantic relationships.