The Lantern Beneath the Leaves

The Lantern Beneath the Leaves*

Whispers from the Root of the World

Beneath the arch of time's old bough,

Where moonlight sings through furrowed brow,

A lantern sways on silent breath—

It lights the path between life and death.

No flame it bears, no wax nor wick,

But thoughts unspoken, dense and thick—

Ideas unborn in soil steeped deep,

Where ancient truths and riddles sleep.

A crow with eyes of polished jade

Spoke thus beneath the cedar’s shade:

*"Not all who wander seek a name—

Some drift to leave the world unchanged."*

A fox of smoke, with tail like wind,

Said, *"Wisdom hides where myths rescind.

The louder truths are seldom right—

Look inward where the soul births sight."*

The trees lean in with cracking bark,

Their voices tremble, low and dark:

*"To climb the stars, first learn to bend;

To meet the end, begin again."*

And so the lantern softly swings,

Cradled by unseen forest things,

Its glow not bright, but deeply wise—

A mirror forged in dreamer’s eyes.