Why The Weeping Willow Weeps (A Parable) Poem by Sheri Green

There was once a beautiful young Woman named Willow and word of her beauty traveled far and wide. Many suitors came to ask her hand in marriage; rich men and poor men, the young and the old, but Willow never accepted any mans offer to wed. She thought she was too beautiful for any man less he be a King or God yet she never told her suitors of this as she loved the attention and gifts she was given. Great was her beauty to the eye but how cold and selfish was her beauty inside.

For many years the suitors would come and go, yet there was one poor farm boy that always stayed. Every week he would come to her and without so much as a single word, he would smile to her, bow and give her a gift. It did not matter what she asked of her suitors that week, he would return bearing it most gladly.

Willow would accept the gift in the most pretentious manner, not even acknowledging the poor farm boy. She would barely rest her eyes on him as she engaged in coquetry with her more notable suitors. But the farm boy persisted, offering each wordless gift without receiving a smile or a thank you as Willow continued to hold him in disdain.

Then one week, the farm boy did not come and Willow did take note but quickly brushed the thought from her mind because what was he to a woman of such great beauty? He was but a poor farm boy with nothing to offer her.

And the next week he did not come and Willow found herself looking for him, wondering where he was. She convinced herself this was because she missed the gifts and tried to push the thought of him from her mind.

And the third week he did not come and Willow found herself wondering what had happened to the farm boy. And no matter how hard she tried she could not put the thoughts of him from her mind. And she really could not understand why as it was just not possible that she could be concerned about one such as him.

And then the fourth week he returned bearing a gift. Willow, talking to her other suitors noticed him standing alone under the trees. He looked very tired and worn and so she took a few steps toward him wondering what could be the matter. He saw her so walked to her and handed her the gift. Hesitantly she searched his face as she accepted the gift and quietly whispered thank you. And his smile was so beautiful and bright that all the cares and concerns he wore disappeared. Willow could not help but smile in return.

And this continued every week: the farm boy would come with a gift and Willow would stop everything in order to accept his gift. She soon found that almost every thought she had was of this poor farm boy. She eagerly awaited his smile and gentle nature and watched for him everyday.

And her father, being the shrewd merchant that he was, saw what was happening. He could not allow this to go on as the farm boy had nothing he could offer and there were many riches to be had for his daughters hand. So without telling her, he devised a plan that would settle the entire business once and for all. He declared that a quest was to be used to determine the winner; the man that could slay the Calydonian Boar would be wedded to his daughter.And the Calydonian Boar was a savage and feral beast. It ravaged the countryside and only those with great wealth at their disposal or had a supernatural heritage would be able to perform such a feat. And Willow hadn't a clue..

She wondered where all the suitors went but really did not pay too much mind to their absence. But when the farm boy did not show, she became greatly worried. She stood at the road and watched for him every day but he never did come. She began to be afraid, worried as to what could have happened to him until one day she heard some travelers passing on the road talking about a great quest. She had not heard of any quest so asked them what the quest was for. They quickly told her that a local merchant that was said to have a daughter as beautiful as the sky itself had offer her in marriage to the man that could bring back the head of the Calydonian Boar. And then she knew where he had gone and she panicked as there was no way he could fight the boar and win. She demanded that they tell her where the boar was and they told her it had been seen a few miles west of there in an olive grove.

She knew where this had to be so took off running as fast as she could. She ran till she thought her heart would burst before coming upon the remains of the grove and she stood there in shock at the devastation. Not knowing what else to do she started looking for him frantically, screaming for help. A few villagers out cleaning the damaged field ran to her and asked her what she needed as they were very concerned for her hysterical crying. She begged them to tell her if they knew where the beautiful sandy-haired farm boy had gone. They bowed their heads and told her he had fallen to the boar and that his body had been taken to the temple the day before.

And at that moment, Willow's heart broke. She screamed with unassaugable greief and ran and ran until she had no breath left. She found herself beside a stream and lay down on the bank and sobbed the grief of the soul weary. She never told him she loved him; she never even knew his name. And so she weeped the tears of a soul that is forever lost.

And Hera, in her kindness, heard her anguish and took pity on the child. But she also held a Gods wisdom and knew a lesson had to be learned. So she transformed Willow into a beautiful tree so that she could endure the heartache but she also placed her beside the water so she could always gaze at her reflection and never forget that it was her own vanity that caused her heart to break. And that is why the willow weeps and you will almost always find her near the water, so she can gaze upon herself and never forget the price of vanity.