Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Weeds From A Blind Boy


--by parsaakbar, posted Sep 25, 2007

The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read

Beneath the long, straggly branches of an old willow tree.

Disillusioned by life with good reason to frown,

For the world was intent on dragging me down.

And if that weren't enough to ruin my day,

A young boy out of breath approached me, all tired from play.

He stood right before me with his head tilted down

And said with great excitement, "Look what I found!"

In his hand was a flower, and what a pitiful sight,

With its petals all worn - not enough rain, or too little light.

Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off to play,

I faked a small smile and then shifted away.

But instead of retreating he sat next to my side

And placed the flower to his nose and declared with overacted surprise,

"It sure smells pretty and it's beautiful, too.

That's why I picked it; here, it's for you."

The weed before me was dying or dead.

Not vibrant of colors: orange, yellow or red.

But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave.

So I reached for the flower, and replied, "Just what I need."

But instead of him placing the flower in my hand,

He held it mid-air without reason or plan.

It was then that I noticed for the very first time

That weed-toting boy could not see: he was blind.

I heard my voice quiver; tears shone in the sun

As I thanked him for picking the very best one.

"You're welcome," he smiled, and then ran off to play,

Unaware of the impact he'd had on my day.

I sat there and wondered how he managed to see

A self-pitying woman beneath an old willow tree.

How did he know of my self-indulged plight?

Perhaps from his heart, he'd been blessed with true sight.

Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see

The problem was not with the world; the problem was me.

And for all of those times I myself had been blind,

I vowed to see the beauty in life,

And appreciate every second that's mine.

And then I held that wilted flower up to my nose

And breathed in the fragrance of a beautiful rose

And smiled as I watched that young boy, Another weed in his hand,

About to change the life of an unsuspecting old man.

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Readers Comments

brighteyes wrote: Love it Parsa!

Love the story, Love the moral and Love the feeling after reading it!

THANKS for sharing,
Smiles from Brighteyes ;)
lovebug wrote: How simple life would be, if we all had a blind boy teach us how to see.
Angel4eva wrote: love the story thanks for sharing
Tigerlily wrote: wow. The story alone is enough to change my outlook. Thank you.
walkingraven wrote: Wonder if the world would be a better place if we all were blind
upwiththesun wrote: Beautiful poem!
butterflykisses wrote: This story brought tears to my eyes, as a lot of them do. I enjoy reading them all and remembering what is important in this life.
DAWN BUTT wrote: What a beautiful poem and moral to the story
smoothsugardoll wrote: What an awesome poem thank you for sharing it. It really touched my heart.
Rice wrote: Never judge a book by it's cover certainly rings true throughout your poem.
Thank you for sharing. 8)May your heart leap with joy...for no reason.
M~

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