Post by ancientone on Dec 31, 2007 11:53:24 GMT 7
Eulogy to the Earth
The raindrops fell from the sky. It was as if the sky was filled with agonies, and they were overflowing. One by one, they danced down from the clouds and towards the ground. It was the burden of the world, and drop by drop it was shed like tears. The sky was crying, in mourning of fallen values and in remembrance of days since past. They glistened in the dim light that crept through the clouds, silently shining with their pain. It was as if it was trying to ask the world, “Why do I hurt? Why do I exist? Why do you kill my children?” The world gave no reply; all that could be heard were the unanswered tears of the sky hitting the ground. Was there a reason for it all? Was reconciliation too much to ask for? These questions lingered on as the tears continued to fall.
With no end in sight, the sky began to weep. In its never-ending torment, the sky felt that it must take its own action. The sky began to release a torrent of water, trying to cleanse the world of all of its pains. One by one, cities, towns, metropolises…nothing could withstand the wrath of the sky. This was the anger of fallen generations; this was the will of time, and all were to succumb to it. With the intent to kill, the sky continued mercilessly. The people moaned and pled for forgiveness, but their cries fell short of the sky’s ears, buried under the oceans.
Finally, when all but a few were gone, the world broke its unchanging silence, “It is not these people who have sinned, oh great keeper of the heavens. The only one to commit true treachery was you.”
The sky, angered further by this turned its wrath towards the world, “What do you know, silent one? Why do you defend these people who have ravaged your soils and claimed them as their own? What makes them so special?!”
The world gave a simple response, “They are not special and they are not helpful. But, what you have done is much worse. You have cast aside your values for vengeance. You have traded forgiveness for fatality. You are not worthy of judging these people, let alone punishing them.”
The sky stopped its assault and pondered for a moment. Was it wrong to fight fear with fear? Was it really wrong? It was then that the sky remembered the way that it had once been. Back before cities, before metropolises, everything had been at peace. People and nature had lived together as one. The sky stopped its attack on the people of the world, and suddenly it could hear only one thing. It was the cry of a lone child. It cried because it had no parents, for the waters had taken them. It cried because it had no food, for the world had been striped of that. It cried because it had no home, for all that was left was wreckage. The sky remembered compassion. In response to this child’s cry, the sky drew lines of color across the sky to the child and it began to speak, “Come, and follow this bridge of light. It will lead to peace. There is a seed of hope that is in need of care.”
One by one, the people began to follow the arc of colored light towards the child. Slowly, everyone gathered near the child and began to rebuild, but this time was different. This time the did not take the land as their own; this time, they slowly learned again how to live peacefully with nature. For decades on, the people remembered the wrath of the sky that came when they had lost their way, as well as the arc of light that guided them to their futures. Most of all what they remembered was that no mater how big the storm was, there would always be a rain-bow at the end, showing that hope would spring eternal.
