A Modern Day Fable

I wrote this awhile back,
but I hope you take the message to heart...

Too Big For Their Skin
by Susan Meagher

Have you heard of the desert--where not much will grow,
Where the sun shines for hours on the dry sands below?

Well, it once was a jungle, all lush and deep green
With plenty of shade and places to dream.

In it, lived snakes--pink, purple and blue,
Yellow, bright orange and polka-dot too.

And there in that magical land, long ago,
Everything prospered and was able to grow.

It was a glorious place and in the midst of it all,
Lived a handsome, young snake, whose first name was Rawl.

Though each snake was beautiful, Rawl's coloring was rare--
He was quite different from everyone there.

You see, his skin was so gorgeous--all bright crimson red,
But soon all that beauty went straight to his head.

"I'm prettier than them!" Rawl decided one day,
"My skin makes me special and I LIKE it that way!

I'm smarter than snakes that are blue or bright green,
And definitely better than those in-between!

Why, I'm better than ALL the snakes! It's easy to see!
I'm meant to be Snake King. That's the way it should be!"

So Rawl spread the news all through the snakes' town,
That he was the king and the rest must bow down.

The other snakes met and they made a great fuss,
"What makes HIM think that he's better than us?"

"My spots are impressive," the Polka-dot sneered,
"I've always thought red snakes were really quite weird!"

"I ought to be king," the blue one now said,
"Because everyone knows--blue is BETTER than red!"

They argued and hissed till the fall of the sun.
They just couldn't decide who should be number one.

So they sent for the Wizard--he'd know what to do!
He'd make the choice between pink, red or blue.

That old Wizard arrived just as quick as a wink,
So the snakes crawled over and asked, "What do YOU think?"

He shook his head slowly and unhappily said,
"It's not whether you're purple, blue or bright red....

Your skin color's lovely, that's certainly true,
But that's not all that goes into making you--YOU!

There's your brain and your heart and your senses--all five!
These are the things that will keep you alive.

It was never your beauty," he said getting mad,
"It's time to remind you of the REAL gifts you've had!

So, I'll teach you a lesson," he said with a grin
"I'll take away all of that precious skin!

And your home," said the Wizard, "will no longer be green!
You'll have nothing but rocks to slither between."

Then with a snap of his fingers and a wave of his hand
He transformed that jungle to a sea of hot sand.

He made the trees vanish! They just sank in the ground!
There wasn't a single live plant to be found!

Rawl started to itch. Soon, no one's skin fit--
It had all grown so tight that it started to split!

The snakes were so scared that they begged with a cry:
"Oh, PLEASE, Mr. Wizard, don't let us die!"

They begged that old wizard to quick, make it stop!
How could they live with no skin left on top?

But their skins all fell off--right there in the dirt.
They were shocked and unhappy and their feelings were hurt!

Underneath they had new skins--but not bright like before.
They were brown and scaly and nothing more.

"You thought your skin color more important by far,
Than any of the other good things that you are.

Well, it's NOT! " said the Wizard, "This will prove it to you!
There'll be no more arguments about pink, red or blue!

You simply must realize that skin is just skin!
It was put there only to hold your insides in!

Now, learn to live peacefully," he preached until dawn.
Then with a wave of his arm, he was gone!

So the next time you're walking and you see by your feet,
The skin of a snake lying in the sun's heat....

Or you're tempted to think that you're better by far,
Than any of those "other people" on Earth really are...

Just remember Rawl and his friends--you can't possibly win,
If doing so depends on the shade of your skin.

Copyright 1996, Susi Meagher

Please...even ONE hate crime is too many...

PEACE BEGINS RIGHT HERE...
RIGHT NOW...
WITH YOU!

Have you signed my guestbook yet? Please do...

You can go back or follow me to my "Stop The Abuse!" page.





Click on the logo to visit Special Occasion Designs

My Index:

[Main Page][Meet My "Angels"][My Introduction Page]
[My Photo Album][A Story I Wrote][Stop the Abuse!]
[My Wish/Awards/Links][Poetry]