"Look at me,"
said the tree to the reed.
"I stand much straighter than you.
"You are tossed by the wind,
"but I never bend.
"I am much stronger than you."
And so came the wind
and the reed did bend
and the tree did endure to stand fast.
And after the gale
the reed did not fail
but the tree lay broken in the grass.

© ephealy February 2, 1992