“On Clothes”

The title of today’s posting here on ReNude Pride is the poem of the same name composed by the celebrated Lebanese born author, philosopher, poet and visual artist, Kahlil Gibran. In this poetic offering, Mr. Gibran shares with us his express appreciation of being bare (clothes free, naked, nude) and his distaste for the concealment of the human body with clothing.

He was born on January 6, 1883, in Bsharri, Lebanon, within what was then part of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire. He emigrated to the United States along with his mother and two sisters. He died in New York City on April 10, 1931, at the age of 48 years old.

Beneath the image below is Kahlil Gibran’s encouragement and endorsement of being a complete and proud bare practitioner!

On Clothes

by Kahlil Gibran

And the weaver said, “Speak to us of clothes.”

And he answered: Your clothes conceal much of your beauty,

yet they hide not the unbeautiful.

And though you seek in garments the freedom of privacy,

you find in them a harness and a chain.

Would that you could meet the sun and the wind

with more of your skin and less of your rainment.

For the breath of life in in the sunlight

and the hand of life is the wind.

Some of you say,

“It is the north wind who has woven the clothes to wear.”

But shame was his loom,

and the softening of the sinews was his thread.

And when his work was done he laughed in the forest.

Forget not that modesty is for a shield

against the eye of the unclean.

And when the unclean shall be no more,

what were modesty but a fetter and a fouling of the mind?

And forget not that the earth delights

to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.

The poet, Kahlil Gibran, unashamedly extols his admiration and devotion to both the concept and practice of being absolutely bare and natural at a time when the very idea of clothes freedom (nudity) was rarely discussed, shared or written about in “polite” society. We all, as today’s bare practitioners, owe to Kahlil Gibran an enormous debt of gratitude for enlightening our world to the magic and the majesty of being nude alone or socially with others. Without the beauty of his praise, this would indeed be a very bland and drab world to reside upon!

Gibran’s early death, due to a severe liver infection brought on by his heavy consumption of of alcohol, denied him the chance to witness the emergence of the same gender loving (bisexual, gay and lesbian) culture that rapidly grew following World War II. Since his demise, there has been significant speculation about his own sexual preference. He had a very close woman supporter while living in New York City. However, their relationship was strictly platonic.

There are innumerable bare practitioners who also enjoy donning clothes when it is necessary and appearing in the most current and popular styles of fashion. There is nothing whatsoever wrong or deceitful in doing this. A simple solution for the double pleasure of those who feel this way is the use of body paint to adorn one’s skin with a sense of style as my friend and fellow bare practitioner, Deen, has done in the above photograph. A colorful array to brighten one’s day! Thank you, Deen, for allowing me to use your picture!

Bare hugs!

Roger/ReNude Pride

Author’s Note #1: The next posting here is planned for Monday, March 8, 2021, and the proposed topic “Protective Covering!”

Author’s Note #2: To view my bare buddy, Deen’s, listing on ReNude Pride’s Page of Fame click here.

To view his initial interview please click here. Please note that in my interview posting, I inadvertently misspelled his name.