“There’s no need to rush.
Everything happens in its time.”
The wind said to the leaf
that, still green,
wanted to fly.
And when that time
finally came,
the leaf realized
that it had turned yellow.

“Look! A comet.”
“The comet!
The lover of the stars.
Among the noblest
and most precious
stars of the sky.”
“Why do they call it the lover of the stars?”
“Because the sky is harmony
but there's no harmony
if there's no satisfaction
and the stars
need a lover
who comes to see them
now and then
and if the stars
explode once in a while
that means
that they are unsatisfied
and sad
and tired
and that the comet
hasn’t arrived in time
to love them.
This is why stars shine.
Because they're happy.”
“I want to be a star, too.”

That gust of wind is blowing tonight
bringing with it the scent of the sea
the sweet soft voices of children
who laugh as they play on the shore
and transform that gust of wind
into a harp that lifts my spirits.
I want to listen to the melodies of the sea
written for me on a moonlit night
under a sky streaked with light.
Gems of summer strewn with joy.

“Hold me
for just one more night
before I leave
to become a soldier of war
and don’t cry tonight.
Keep your tears
and sow them
by the lime-tree
in the shade of which
I loved you.
I will come back to pick the shoots
and adorn your hair
before the fruit
of your womb is born.”
Years went by
shoots blossomed
and every day a child
comes and picks a leaf
to put it under his pillow
and fall asleep saying
“Good night, Dad.”

The loves of the past
are like the wind
and when the wind is silent
the leaves sleep.
It’s almost as if they are thinking,
bored
sick of life
but the wind comes and goes
and when the wind blows,
the leaves stir restlessly
and sometimes,
if it weren’t for the branches,
they would disappear along with it.

I learned to walk
on glass floors,
to weigh words
as though they were gold,
to listen to the tiniest sounds
of the hearts of those
who talked to me
but I still haven't learned to fly
as feathers do.

Honesty and justice
will temper selfishness
and the thirst for power.
In our house,
respect heightens fairness and dignity
and in other people’s homes
thwarts our arrogant notion
that we are superior
and entitled
to abuse others.
Tolerance,
which is unnecessary
where there is respect,
can help soothe
insecurities and fears
until respect grows.
Goodness is our final goal
and, inherently, that’s
all mankind needs
to live in peace and harmony,
fully reaping the benefits
of physical and mental pleasure.