I sat in quiet reverie beneath the boughs of the most gentle and <br /> humble of trees, the beautiful golden willow. <br /> The hot sun beat down upon her branches but could not <br /> penetrate the cool soil beneath, so the mossy fragrance of mother <br /> earth enveloped me, and I was once again attuned with nature. <br /> Her whispering branches softly touched my cheek and my soul <br /> wept to see such beauty. <br /> It would appear we were in unison, for as though in answer to <br /> my unspoken word I heard the tender murmur of her reply. <br /> "Deep heart, I weep because you care that I weep for the sorrows <br /> of mankind, for the blindness and the cruelty on this earth and <br /> in the world that was once a kingdom of golden light. <br /> "Many moons ago when the world was young and the children <br /> of the soil had tender hearts and simple tastes, indeed their <br /> hearts were full of love and each man was a brother. So, dear <br /> heart, now you know the reason why I weep." <br /> I looked at the ground and saw a tiny white daisy, face upturned <br /> as if looking to the heavens, so I said, "Tell me, please, why do <br /> you look thus? Can it be that you are praying?" <br /> She answered me and said, "My span of life is limited but <br /> others of my family follow suit - unlike the willow who only <br /> weeps, I pray for all, that they some day may find the truth for <br /> which they seek and then the world will once again stand in the <br /> light, and every man within his heart shall find and share the <br /> brotherhood of love".<br /><br />Edith Dilkes<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-whisper-of-the-willow/
