Week 11 Story: Roots
Trees have such power
Because they
Keep their strongest
Parts safe and still
In the dirt.
The wind can rip at them
But never truly touches
Their vulnerability.
They are wise
Because their knowledge
Goes deeper than the
Eye can see,
But, the Good King forgot this.
And when his kingdom
Was brutally attacked
By broken men
Who came from an unknown land,
His vulnerability was all
Wrapped up
In his power.
There was no deeper space
For his vulnerability to rest.
So, when the Good King and what was left of his people
Had to take refuge in the forest
And in each other
He was exposed and
Acted from this tangled mess.
His only goal was to protect his people,
So he decided to be the strongest prey
And kill his people's predators.
"Brace yourselves!" He said,
Really saying lay yourselves bare,
And devised a plan
To crush their opposers under the heavy weight of trees.
They loosened the trees,
So when the broken men came again in the night,
Willing the violence to piece them back together,
His people tipped the trees over.
But, you never know which way a tree will fall,
So every one died.
Except the Good King.
In the wake of their death,
He stood staring at the tree roots.
They clawed at the night sky.
He desired to protect his people
From the harm of broken men.
But, men are broken under the weight of
Hate and Greed and Violence.
Beings are elastic
And mend themselves if only
The weight is removed
And they are allowed to stand.
He fought against Men
Instead of their ailments.
And He cried in the forest
As he finally saw the roots.
Author's Note: This story is based on the The Stupid Monkeys story from the Jataka Tales by H.T. Francis and E.J. Thomas. In this story, monkeys are instructed to water plants, but they need to give more water to the plants with bigger roots. To do this effectively, they decided to pull up the trees from the ground to look at their roots. They then water the tree accordingly and put in back in the ground. Of course, this will end up killing the tree. The tale is about how ignorance means even the best intentions can ultimately cause the undesired outcome if they come from a place of ignorance. For me, this meant not being able to see the root of an issue.
Because they
Keep their strongest
Parts safe and still
In the dirt.
The wind can rip at them
But never truly touches
Their vulnerability.
They are wise
Because their knowledge
Goes deeper than the
Eye can see,
But, the Good King forgot this.
And when his kingdom
Was brutally attacked
By broken men
Who came from an unknown land,
His vulnerability was all
Wrapped up
In his power.
There was no deeper space
For his vulnerability to rest.
So, when the Good King and what was left of his people
Had to take refuge in the forest
And in each other
He was exposed and
Acted from this tangled mess.
His only goal was to protect his people,
So he decided to be the strongest prey
And kill his people's predators.
"Brace yourselves!" He said,
Really saying lay yourselves bare,
And devised a plan
To crush their opposers under the heavy weight of trees.
They loosened the trees,
So when the broken men came again in the night,
Willing the violence to piece them back together,
His people tipped the trees over.
But, you never know which way a tree will fall,
So every one died.
Except the Good King.
In the wake of their death,
He stood staring at the tree roots.
They clawed at the night sky.
He desired to protect his people
From the harm of broken men.
But, men are broken under the weight of
Hate and Greed and Violence.
Beings are elastic
And mend themselves if only
The weight is removed
And they are allowed to stand.
He fought against Men
Instead of their ailments.
And He cried in the forest
As he finally saw the roots.
Tree Roots on Pixabay
Author's Note: This story is based on the The Stupid Monkeys story from the Jataka Tales by H.T. Francis and E.J. Thomas. In this story, monkeys are instructed to water plants, but they need to give more water to the plants with bigger roots. To do this effectively, they decided to pull up the trees from the ground to look at their roots. They then water the tree accordingly and put in back in the ground. Of course, this will end up killing the tree. The tale is about how ignorance means even the best intentions can ultimately cause the undesired outcome if they come from a place of ignorance. For me, this meant not being able to see the root of an issue.
I loved the deeper meaning of the story! Ignorance was a problem that many ancient cultures recognized as 'the root of evil' yet many people nowadays blame money, society, religion etc. I also liked the strength and wisdom evoked by the trees. To recognize those kinds of qualities in Mother Nature definitely helps to overcome ignorance, just like the message of your story calls for. Way to wrap all of that together! Great job!
ReplyDeleteJessica! Again you blow me away with your ability to connect all your stories back to mother nature!! I love stories like this where there is a deeper message that is applicable to anybody reading this. The tone of this story really captured me and made me want to continue reading. This story really let your creativity shine through and I'm impressed that you came up with such a moving story! The poor king. I was sad for him, but I understand that he had to face what he did for a reason.
ReplyDeleteHi Jessica! Oh man, oh man, do I love your story. It is too creative, and I am proud of your work! It is different from most of the student’s stories that I have read in the past which makes yours stand out! Keep up the great work, Jessica! I want to wish for you a successful semester! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHey Jessica! I loved reading your story! I liked the style you wrote your story because it's different from the other stories I've read. Also, I thought it was clever how you changed the original story and still managed to portray the original message. Overall, you did a great job and keep up the good work! Hope the rest of your semester goes well!
ReplyDelete