A Parable For Our Times

THE DESTRUCTION OF BEAUTY

Once upon a time in a far away land
There lived a little old lady
And a little old man

One day it was spring
The trees filling with sap
When out in the forest
They heard tap tap, tap tap

What could it be,
This hammering sound
They looked up and then down
Then everywhere round.

And then up high they saw it
A magnificent bird
A head red as a Cardinal
And a beak long-absurd

It was a Pilated wood pecker
Large as a cat, a buzz saw of activity
A rat a tat tat.

The woods chips descended
From high in the tree
Falling, descending like
So much confetti

What ho said the man
See that bright bird
With plumage bright Red
Let’s shoot and kill it
I’ll fill it with lead

But wait, said the lady
You silly old fool
To kill that bright bird
Would be stupid and cruel

So the little old man
He marched out the door
He took his long gun
His bullets and more

He stalked through the forest
With nary a sound
Until right before him
There was game all around

He shot at the lion
He shot at the deer
He shot at the rabbit
Until the coast was clear

But when he finished
His shooting
There was no game about
It all had escaped him
The man started to pout

And then he went homeward
Where he saw the bright bird
He shot it and killed it
With not even a word

And when he opened the door
And the lady found out
She said, I will not eat it
You stupid old lout

You’ve killed off the beauty
Get out, out, out...out!

j matson heininger