The Lion and the Lamb

They skirt around my trunk. They rub their antlers on my bark. They drink from my friend the stream. They build their homes in the rocks.

But animals did not always live here. When I was just sprouted, I listened to the stories my fathers told me. They looked down on me and sang through the night. They sang the songs of the coming of the animals, painting images in the sky. I watched as the blue and green touched down to the earth before fading once more. I watched the colors reflect off the snow. I watched them as I watch them now.

Listen flowers of the forest. Listen to my voice. I will sing to you while you sleep under the layer of snow. I will sing to your dreams. Listen and watch the images form in your mind, hear the tale I will tell you.

It began with a lion.

It began with a lamb.

These two lived together in a castle in the clouds. They drifted on the tides of the air and went wither the sun took them. They traveled from here to there and back again. They looked into the darkness of the sky and found they were the only inhabitants.

They made stars.

They set up the guardians of the sky and placed them there to mark off the days and months and years. They created the land so they could inhabit it. They built up the rocks and the pastures. They made the mountains and the deserts and the streams. They made the lynx knowing she would rescue the animals from the rat. They made the owl knowing he would govern well. They made the fox knowing he would slink through the day and night, disappearing when the humans neared. They made the tears of the sea and they made the glaciers. Yes, they even made you flowers. Dream and remember.

Do you remember when they made you flowers? Do you remember being created from your seed? Do you remember bursting forth in the spring and feeling the breeze for the first time? Do you remember the darkness and the light?

The lion and the lamb made all these things and then came to the earth and lived among the creatures. They made lions and lambs like themselves and they governed the animals. The lion lived among the woods and hunted. He roamed to the desert and settled the disputes of the vultures and the eagles. He proved his might among the cheetahs and the tigers. He showed them how to rule.

The lamb governed the pasture. He wandered among his fellows and submitted himself to the shepherd. He followed the shepherd to good pasture. He laid down when the shepherd found shelter for the night.

Together the lion and the lamb created the world. They created you dear flowers.