Old Man Parable 1

He often sat on that bench in the park.

The park where people often go

To walk and sit and enjoy 

The Trees and the wonderful birds.

The park where it is

Peaceful and calm.

That old man.

The one in the black coat.

That old fashioned long coat from another time.

He wore a black felt hat from the same era.

He smoked hand rolled cigarettes.

No one new from where he came.

No one knew who he was.

Though odd, he was friendly.

And then one day, after many years,

We never saw him again.

Whenever one would sit next to him

He would often speak in parables.

Unprompted.

And then, when done,

Would stand up and walk away.

Without ever saying another word.

A long while back.

I saw that bench on which this man sat.

I knew nothing about him.

He seemed unthreatening.

I sought to rest my feet for a bit

And enjoy the air in the park

With the beautiful trees and wonderful birds.

I said hello.

He nodded, looking forward

And said nothing.

I asked if he would mind

I if I sat on the bench.

He said “Please. Do sit.”

And we sat in silence.

It was peaceful and calm.

After some time he spoke.

I can’t say he spoke to me.

He never turned his head my direction.

Or addressed me directly.

He spoke with clarity

And precision.

Without pause.

He said:

There was an old man.

He was on his death bed.

The old man spends his final moments

Looking backwards on his life.

He thinks of all the things he did

For his god.

He burned the villages of his enemies.

He violently purged those he felt wicked.

He punished those he deemed sinful.

He carried out death sentences.

So as to remove people

Who refused his demands.

He was tireless

And dedicated to these causes

And it consumed every waking moment

Of his adult life.

He was decorated 

And encouraged people to chant his name

And he declared himself king of all.

He was never at peace. 

He was forever at war.

He bent the world to his will.

As he lay there in his deathbed

He thought to himself

“Soon I will be in heaven.”

For I have done all of these amazing things

For my god."

He was tired and thought to himself

“I am tired.”

“I want to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

“I want to be in a place of calm.” 

“I want to be where there is no wickedness.”

“Or sinful behavior.”

“I am certain I know god’s will

and it will be done.”

And he thinks of trees

In a beautiful forest

Inhabited by wonderful birds.

And he says to his god

Please take me to such a place!

And with that he dies.

And his god says

"I am just for All."

The next thing the man knows 

He is a seedling 

In a beautiful forest

Of magnificent trees

And it is peaceful

And calm

Amongst which are wonderful birds. 

And as the years go by 

He grows from a seedling

Into a sapling 

And finally, into a tree.

A large magnificent tree

Amongst other large magnificent trees.

And as this occurs 

A silent rage consumes him.

For as a tree he is bored

As he cannot move freely.

He is constrained by roots.

He is unable to be as he was

When he declared himself king of all.

Though a magnificent tree

his view is blocked

by other magnificent trees

As occurs in every beautiful forest.

And he develops a hatred.

He feels the other trees are unfair.

He also begins to despise the birds.

Because they land on him

And make untidy nests amongst his branches

And they constantly make noises

That disturb his thoughts

And sometimes they peck at him

As bird do.

And he feels they are rude and nasty.

He wishes to purge them from the forest. 

As time passes

His thoughts consume him.

He views the entire forest as full of wickedness.

He wishes to strike out at the the other trees.

He wishes to poison the birds. 

He wishes to do this so he can be in a peaceful calm forest

With unobstructed views and complete silence.

He begs to his god

To grant him such powers.

He prays for the the ability to tear down 

Those trees that obstruct his views

And to vanquish the birds

That disrupt the calm he desires

And peck at him for food

And remove them all from the forest.

He pleads with his god 

“Please permit this.”

“Make me as powerful as I was.”

“I will cut down these trees.”

“I will kill these birds.”

“I want to command this forest.”

“I will do so as I believe my will is your will!”

The tree rages in the wind.

The tree seethes.

And his god responds 

“I am just for All.”

And the next day a young forester wanders into the forest.

And he sees the large magnificent tree.

And the forester fells the tree

And from it crafts a crib

In which his future children will sleep.

He says a silent prayer of thanks as he does such.

And the forest is quiet.

And the birds make merry sounds. 

And the heaven remains peaceful.

And all is as it was.

And in the forester’s house,

Over several years, are many babies

Who each in turn sleep in the crib.

And over the years many babies

cry in it.

And they fuss.

And they sometimes soil the crib

As babies do.

And over the years

The crib silently rages.

The crib silently seethes.

For the crib can make no noise.

The crib silently decries

“This is unjust."

"These children are savages."

"They are vile."

"They are unworthy of my presence."

"They must be punished!”

As each kid comes and goes

The crib begs his god

To grant him the ability to 

Discipline these wretched children

And to bring them into line

So as to restore peace and order in the room in which he sits.

Eventually, his god responds

“I am just for all.”

The next day, the crib falls apart.

The wood from which it was made

Collapses onto the floor.

An old man, once a young forester,

Comes into the room and sees 

The remnants of the crib on the floor.

It is a bittersweet moment.

He remembers the tree he felled

Many years ago

And how it was used for

The wood from which the crib

Was created.

He members all the wonderful memories

That he cherishes of his children

Who slept in the crib.

The old forester then gathers the remnants of the crib.

He takes them outside into a clearing in the forest.

And as per the custom of his people,

He burns the remnants of the crib so as to honor its

Purpose and bring closure to its chapter

In his family’s history.

He says a silent prayer of thanks as he does such.

The forester sits and watches the smoke from the

Remnants of the burning crib

rise up into the air .

The smoke dissipates into the 

Quiet breeze.

And everything is peaceful in the forest of heaven

And the birds sing.

And with that

The old man on the bench stopped speaking.

He stood.

And then he walked away.

Leaving me in silence

to sit and enjoy 

The trees and the wonderful birds

In the park where it is

Peaceful and calm.