10/13/2025
“The Elder Said: When the Forest Needed a Heart”
The elder said:
"Once, when the forest lost its song,
the Bear walked alone beneath the dying stars."
His paws were heavy with the weight of sorrow,
his breath—
a storm that no wind could calm.
Then came the Raven,
dark as the truth of night,
carrying stories in his wings.
"Brother," he called,
"the Earth still breathes beneath your feet."
Bear lifted his eyes—
and in the black bird’s gaze
he saw the fire of dawn.
"Teach me how to dream again,"
he whispered.
Raven sang,
not of glory,
but of rain falling on tired soil,
of roots remembering light.
The forest listened—
and so did the mountains.
Tears became rivers.
Silence became song.
The elder said:
"When the strong weep
and the wise stay,
the world begins to heal."
