A departure: a short story that may reflect the thoughts of a Patuxet clansman.
__I looked into the boy's face and saw tears... coursing down those dirty cheeks. "Boy, what are those tears?"
__"These tears question my value to me, and my clan. Old one, hidden among your years you must surely have known these doubts, and found the answers to the troubles of the young; having found those answers, please share them with me and my impatience."
__"Boy, I fear I've frogotten the troubles of a child... as a child sees their troubles. What, can your cares be?"
__"Elder, I have tried to be what the clan wants me to be, to be where I am wanted, and not where... I am not. I have been silent, I have spoken only when spoken to, and then only in the Spirit's truth. I have tried to make my clan proud of me, and me... proud of me; I've cared enough to do these things, but these tears still trace my failures, and my failures seem all that matter. Old one, to unravel these streaks of tears... I ask three questions. Will I ever please myself? Will I ever please my elders, and why are my tries... overlooked?"
__"Child, always be pleased with your attempts to please; If your unnoticed tries to please are your greatest triumphs, that joy is a gift you can give to yourself, and then you will see the sum of those tears fade as you follow that joy into new tomorrows. But first, you must see that tomorrows contentment can never be yours if you linger... within yesterdays unanswerable questions."
I awoke.
__Within that instant's kef of a vanishing dream... I saw the rusting tears of the boy that I once was, and I knew I had told myself... Hollow Lies.
_m
- Magyar
- Cape Cod, United States
- __I see with young eyes, an old mirror. Here, I hope to offer... as I see.
12 comments:
well done, forgive the past,
youth do not know how to listen, but will remember the message later.
I loved the language and I could see the elder with a furrowed brow listening to the boy's worries with concern. But I have to confess the ending made me so sad...that the elder's wisdom did not bring the solace the boy had sought. How easy it is to dwell on our failures and ignore our triumphs.
Even more sad that the Patuxet tribe were lost to the plagues.
Fine piece of writing, Magyar :)
Nice caption too -- "Hollow lies"....and Transparent truths...we live them,
thats enough :)
wishes,
devika
yes nice writing M
john
When I returned to my own place, I found my wife had roasted some ribs and boiled the deer´s tongue.Ilupalee lay wrapped in a fresh piece of deer -skin and it was good to hear her whimper with the pain of a full belly.
-The Snow Walker by Farley Mowat.
'Be in peace, you funny bird,` Don Juan said imperatively.`You gave enough. Your victories were strong and they were yours. You gave enough. Now you must change your promise.`
-A Separate Reality by Carlos Castaneda.
__In that fuzzy instant between dream and awarness, the elder discovered he had been offering advice to himself... in that returning dream of his childhood.
__The Patuxet village was then,
where Plymouth MA. is... today.
__I thank you, my friends. _m
WOW...are hollow lies like hollow tears...I wonder
LL.
Hollow tears, meaningless;
Hollow Lies, meaningless.
__All that matters is life... as we live it.
_m
Great piece of writing here:)
Greetings
Joo
A touching writing...
--
I think I'm also suffering somniloquism; my wife anyway claims that I'm just snoring.
;-)
Very nice change of pace--with wisdom to boot...
Post a Comment