Skip to main content

The Story Of a Storyteller

"Once upon a time", began the blind old man
"There was a sea as endless as time; and
It reeked of stories of survival and death,
But none could wait to watch the waves break.
A sailor lived once, I don't remember his name,
Whose skills did put the others' to shame;
He'd conquer the sea, they would all shout
And the sky would rumble at the scream so loud;
That day, and the ones that had shone brighter
Will be drawn by a kid and poetised by a writer-
A hundred years from now, just a hundred wee years."

"One fateful night, the storm wanted to play
With the one little boat that struggled to stay
Afloat; and the sailor heard his name loud and clear
Shooting back from the hungry waves far and near.
He kissed his oar, for the last time he could see,
And closed his eyes to embrace the open sea.
He was found a day later, on a plank, alive,
But the rest of the boat was gone, like life.
The sailor searched for her, from daybreak till night
And like true love always does, she had vanished from sight.
Every mouth around him whispered, 'You must be strong',
But a hundred years then suddenly seemed too long.
With her, his beloved boat, he could have conquered the sea
But instead he told this little story to me."

The children left, and the old soul promised
The rest of it the next day, and mused how well
He sketched his own story every day, without
Breaking the bliss of ignorance; yesterday it was
A knight, with an armour not so shiny, and today it was
A sailor; tomorrow, well, a selfish king would be good
And a queen perhaps. A smile escaped. And a sigh.
This is how 'once upon a time' worked for him.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Eyes

The blind old woman whispered to me Shaking her debility off with a smile, ''You have eyes, my child, and light around you; You can draw a line between white and black. Use those eyes wisely, child, for you'll Slowly learn to see without their help; The darker it gets around you, The harder shall you search for a flame. One day, in life you shall find your light, And in that light you shall find your life again."

The One Thing We'll Never Say

No more broken toys; No memories of fun; Take me home now, Mother, I am too tired to run. The promises of sunnier days Build the darker lies; Now everyone's a genius, But no one's wise. Take me home, Mother, Let your bosom gift me sleep. I am too tired to run now; I am too tired to weep.

The Exoneration of Heidi Schäfer

In the shadows of a dead city she stood And waited for the sun to go down. Heidi had been a daughter, a wife, a mother, But never Heidi. She watched the remnants of a long forgotten song Lancing towards her from the medallion above And her heart looked for the listener; The one who had listened to all her prayers. "Now that my road has come to its end, Show me where I can wash these stains Off my broken skin," Heidi whispered When she found the listener, Playing his flute under an ageless tree. "You've come a long way, Heidi," he said, "You were too cautious not to fall, Which made you forget that you could fly." Heidi watched the hills falling in love with The abstrusity in the melodies he wove And said, "The hills look like a dream." "Yes, but a dream you chose to bury, Under the weight of your sins," he said. "You have been all, Heidi - You have been a seed, a plant and a tree But you never danced wit...