Draft in the author’s style. This poem was written for Poet in Wonderland to sit beside the author’s own readings, and is waiting for the author’s review. The commentary is a working draft too.
At the crossing of three pathways in the heart of the whispering wood,
A wise old owl was sitting where a lonely signpost stood.
She said, to pass this crossing, you must answer what I ask,
And a young boy stepped up bravely, for he had accepted the task.
What doubles when you give it, and withers when you keep?
What warms a winter cottage, and makes a stranger weep?
The boy thought long and quiet, with the moonlight on his face,
And he thought of his grandmother, and her smile, and her embrace.
He said, the answer's kindness, for it grows the more it goes,
And it warms the coldest cottage, and it heals the deepest woes.
The owl bowed low and opened up the path with a gentle hoot,
For the wisest of all answers is the one that has love for its root.
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Commentary
A riddle guards the crossing in this small fairy tale. The answer is not clever wordplay, but something the boy learned at his grandmother’s side.
At “the crossing of three pathways in the heart of the whispering wood,” a wise owl sits by a signpost and says, “to pass this crossing, you must answer what I ask.” A young boy accepts. The riddle is, “What doubles when you give it, and withers when you keep? What warms a winter cottage, and makes a stranger weep?”
The boy thinks of “his grandmother, and her smile, and her embrace.” He answers, “kindness, for it grows the more it goes.” The owl opens the path with a hoot, “for the wisest of all answers is the one that has love for its root.”