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The Weepless Willow
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The Weepless Willow |
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shadow974 Senior Member
since 2001-06-21
Posts 636Michigan 
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One warm spring day in a willow hollow near the bank of a sedate, slowly flowing river, a weeping willow tree spread its seeds in the wind. One solitary seed was caught up by a gust of wind and landed some distance from his siblings in the hollow. He landed more than a half a mile away on the shore of a fertile peat bog. He had been lying there many days when a squirrel from a near by oak tree buried him while digging for acorns he had buried the previous fall. The seedling germinated and grew strong in the moist fertile soil of the peat bog. As he grew, year after year, he set his roots deep in the murky soil and he grew tall and proud. So rich was the soil that the willow sent up shoots from his roots. Joyfully, he had many young willows growing beneath him. It was an extremely pleasant existence for the willow, growing in unison with the soil and the sun; the willow felt blessed. The willow stood tall and strong. His long branches wept down protecting the young willows from heat of the sun. The soil was so moist and damp that the air was permeated with humidity, and the willow actually wept tears of joy that nourished its young. One day a flock of wood ducks, while flying south for the winter, descended on the bog near the willow. They ate lavishly on the thick green moss that grew on the bog. The ducks began to talk to one another about the different places they had been that day. The willow heard them talk of a river teeming with fish and of a hollow filled with beautiful weeping willows. The willow listened contentedly to them. Then one of them ducks wandered over near the shore and asked the willow why he stood alone with only these saplings. He said, “You are surrounded by these wise oaks and you are the only willow by this bog. Aren’t you lonely?” The willow was perplexed and answered the duck. He told him of his joy in being there and of the union between him, the soil, and the sun. He told him how he was blessed, because of the moisture and the rich fertile soil of the bog, with all these young saplings growing from his roots. The ducks, hearing so much joy, said, “You are an especially lucky willow indeed.” Then the ducks, feeling the call of nature, departed and flew further south. As the years went by, the peat bog was slowly filled with vegetation. The sun grew hot and baked the soil. The size of bog began to get smaller. Without the moisture from the bog, the willows were left to bake in the hot, dry soil. The soil became as hard as rock, and the willow’s roots had a hard time penetrating it. When the willow wept to protect its young, his branches were scorched by the hot soil. The willow, having little moisture to spare, could no longer weep tears of joy to nourish his beloved saplings, and his heart grew heavy with sadness. There were many oak trees on the hills surrounding the peat bog and so many squirrels that the woods echoed with their chatter. One day the squirrel wandered up the willow tree looking for acorns. The willow asked him, “Why are you looking for acorns? I am a magnificent weeping willow tree, but I have no food to offer you.” The squirrel chattered and asked, “Why are you here in a woods filled with oaks? You should be near the river where you could drink the cool water and talk with the other willows.” The willow replied, “I have been here since I was a seedling. I was nourished by the moist soil and I have grown strong and tall. I was so strong that I sent up these young saplings from my roots. I used to protect them and nourish them by weeping, but the soil is now dry and parched and I am now, alas, a weepless willow. The squirrel replied, “You belong with other willows near the river.” The willow said, “If I could leave and go to the river, I fear that I would not because the soil needs me to hold it firm with my roots, so when the rains come it will not be washed away. I, too, nourish the soil with my dying leaves each fall. We are in unison the sun, the soil, and I.” “But your young shoots are dying because you can no longer protect them from the heat of the sun. No longer can you weep for them.” “Alas, I am perplexed and brought low in spirit,” said the willow. There stood a wise old oak, not fifty yards from the willow on the side of a hill. When the wind was still, they could hear each other grow. One calm day, the oak said to the willow, “ I overheard your conversation with the squirrel, and I was wandering, if it were possible for you to go to the river, what do you think you would find there?” “I would find peace and harmony, moisture and nourishment for my young and myself.” The oak said, “We are old trees and our roots are deep. Why do you dream of things that can never be? You are alive and tall and strong. Do you have need of more?” The willow replied, “There is no longer a union between the soil, the sun, and me. I am heavy at heart and I long for the cool waters of the river.” The oak said, “We oaks are slow growing and hearty, and we make do with what we have and think not of what we can never be. It is a waste of time and needless pain. The willow said, “I weep no more. My young saplings are dying and I will be alone because I can no longer weep for them.” The oak said, “You are a male tree and were not intended to bring forth young, but the soil was so rich and moist that you were given a gift, and now the time has come when reality and nature are one.” “Oh, but I had a union and children and now I have nothing. I am alone.” The oak said, “We are all alone and share simple things on the outside, but our hearts within speak to us alone. We are in unison within.” The willows heart grew heavy with sadness. No longer was there harmony between him, the sun and the soil. His anguish was so deep that he wished for death but because of his deep roots, he was still strong and his pain was unbearable. He was trapped. As he watched the bog dry up and his young die one by one, a tender part of his core began to rot and die also. As winter approached the willow fell into a deep sleep. In his sleep he dreamed many dreams, dreams of the river and the coolness of the water on his roots and of his young growing tall and strong. Many times in the past he had felt moisture in the air, and fragrance of water lilies had graced his leaves. Once there was a fish that a gull had dropped and it nourished him as it rotted. The willow longed for those dreams to come true and he cherished his thoughts. He prayed for his young shoots and wished for his dreams to come true. He slept in peace, and, as he did, he loosened his grip on the soil. It was a cold, stormy winter with many strong storms. One day there was a fierce storm and many of the oaks were uprooted. The storm raged on and the willow was pulled from the soil, roots and all. He tumbled through the air for what seemed an eternity. His branches were torn and bent by the wind. It rained down thunder and lightning, the storm of all storms, as he tumbled through the air. Then his roots dug deep into the soil and shattered and broke off as he continued to tumble. The willow landed in the middle of the river, and the river seemed to reach up and enfold him in a loving grasp. As the willow lay in the middle of the river, he awoke and he saw his young willows planted in the rich moist soil of the river bank. As he lay dying, he nourished his young as he rotted in the river. Seeing this, the weepless willow wept. He was now one with the sun, the soil and the river. Throw your heart out in front of you |
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| © Copyright 2001 Daniel Owens - All Rights Reserved | |||
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snowpants Member Elite
since 2000-09-16
Posts 2061KS |
I must say that I truly enjoyed this, shadow...you've penned a very well-told tale of one of nature's beauties...you've also quite the imagination to write such a great story...the details were simply wonderful...thanks for sharing this! sp  tried to write a letter |
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Lady In White
since 2001-02-12
Posts 2799USA |
This was an enjoyable read. I would like to see it worked up a bit, some revision here and there, and then see it published as a children's book.... |
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shadow974 Senior Member
since 2001-06-21
Posts 636Michigan |
Thank you Snowpants for the very nice comments. Lady in white, that is one of my dreams but I'm not sure of how to go about it. Do you have some suggestions for me? thank you Throw your heart out in front of you And run out to catch it. ARAB PROVERB [This message has been edited by shadow974 (edited 08-28-2001).] |
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kitkat Senior Member
since 2000-01-11
Posts 878Nova Scotia |
This was a lovely story indeed. It makes you realize never to give up on your dreams. That it is possible for them to come true. -------------- |
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paladin
since 2001-08-05
Posts 930Pensacola,Fl. |
A loving gentle tale.Nature has so much to teach us.We only have to take the time and see it.I will look at weeping willows in a different wat now.I invite you to read my Princess stories.Please feel free to comment on them.I am considering submitting them for publishing as a collection of children's stories. paladin |
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