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Song of the Firefly

 

 

All my life I walked in question

I needed nothing...

Everything that is

Everything that

And everything that will be.

I have known and questioned it...

It all seemed so aimless and so vain...

Then one day a Storm of ash and smoke came to me

And said: "Who are you - you who questions everything?"

"I am love and labor; I am toil and strife;

I am the pain and sorrow of the world..." I said.

"No." said the Storm, "You are death and famine,

You are like a dry and desolate desert

With never a sight of rain...

You are the bones of those who have starved and died

Bleached white upon the sands."

"I am not these things," said I, "My breath is quick;

My eyes are bright...

And my blood is red like wine."

The swirling Storm said: "I hear the sound of a thousand tears;

Your voice betrays the sea of sorrow which beds in your soul.

You think I am the Enemy, but I have come to free you...

If you can answer MY questions with an open heart

Then you shall find release in the heavens above.

But should you fail, you shall cease to exist...

You shall become nothing..."

"I need nothing..." I said, "My questions have kept me young..."

"Your hate has kept you young, "said the Storm.

"Why are you afraid? What malice have I shown you?

I have offered you no reason to fear..."

"I fear nothing; not man, beast, god, or demon...

I merely fear nothing...

"If you fear nothing, is it not better to face your fear?

"Very well...

Ask your questions, Storm, and let us end this folly."

The world drew near,

And every creature was given sight and sound of the event.

The questions poured forth from the storm,

And to each I gave answer...

What is quicker than the wind?

Thought

What can cover the mind?

Fear.

What is the nature of the soul?

The soul is self, and I am the center of all things.

What is your opposite?

Myself.

What are the four natures of truth?

Space is ever-changing, like my two hands brought together as one.

Grief is a condition of ignorance, and real sadness is found in the divine.

Desire is a poison; and all not all poison brings suffering or death.

Victory is also a defeat; for whatever is gained, one also suffers loss.

Which came first, day or night?

Day - but it was only a day ahead.

What is the cause of the world?

Love, but often Hate prevails.

What is madness?

A forgotten way.

What for each living thing is inevitable?

Happiness - either in life, or in death.

What is the Greatest Wonder?

That nothing is infinate; all things must come to an end.

"No," said the Storm, "I am afraid your last answer is incorrect.

This is obviously a question to which you have never given much thought."

"Then what is the answer?

What is the Greatest Wonder?"

The Storm said: "Each day Death strikes the earth;

It surrounds all living beings, it consumes like an ever-starving beast;

But the living act as though they are immortal, conducting themselves

As though they are untouchable by Death.

This is the Greatest Wonder..."

And with those final words the Storm faded into the night.

At the dawn

My mind filled the vacant spaces of the sky

While little winds blow here and there, forlorn

And all the stars, weary of shining, seem to die...

With the coming of the sun I turned into a rock

I became snow...

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