Gently down the stream,
Merrily, merrily,
Merrily merrily,
Life is but a dream.”1
The Child sang.
The Prophet hummed along.
Mr. Whale drummed the water with his fluke,
Mr. Eagle glided with the wind, singing,
“Gaaaak, gaaaak, gaaaak, gaaaak,
Gaa, Gaa, Gaa, Gaa Gaaaak.”
And the small purple bud on the lily pad sprouted.
“Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream,
Merrily, merrily,
Merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.2
The Child stopped.
“Is it true, Prophet?”
“What, child?”
“That life is but a dream.”
“It depends, Child.”
“Prophet?”
“Yes, Child?”
“Why do people hurt other people?”
“What's on your mind, Child?”
“People dying, women and girls getting kidnapped, children dying on high seas, didn’t they have a dream too?”
“How do you mean that, Child?”
“Like me. Didn’t they have a dream like me?”
“Yes, they had a dream.”
“So what happened?”
“Me first, me better than at the cost of others, destroy dreams, Child.”
“Is that bad?”
“How do you row your lily pad?”
“With care.”
“How do you ride Mr. Whale?”
“Gently.”
“Why, Child?”
“Cause I don’t want to hurt them.”
“Egotistical, me first, me better than at the cost of others, feed destruction. It grabs hold of the heart and turns it into a selfish monster.”
“Can that happen to me, Prophet?”
“That can happen to anyone, Child.”
“Prophet, what if it happens to me?”
“It won’t, Child.”
“Why not?”
“It won’t.”
“Oh,” said The Child, and she started singing,
“Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily,
Merrily merrily,
Life is but a dream,3
And The Prophet hummed, and Mr. Whale drummed, and Mr. Eagle gaaaaked while gliding above.
Shalom,
Pat Garcia
1This and the preceding repetitions of the nursery rhyme, Row, Row, Row Your Boat are all by Eliphalet Oram Lyte, The Franklin Square Song Collection, Copyright, 1881, New York
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