“The Dreamer awakes
The shadow goes by
The tale I have told you,
That tale is a lie.
But listen to me,
Bright maiden, proud youth
The tale is a lie;
What it tells is the truth.”
― Traditional folktale ending
Reading mature novels with complex plots
One after another, satisfied I was not
Though the stories were real, the characters believable
I think I was missing the simplicity of fables-
Except that fables and folk tales of all kinds
Are not written to appeal to an adult mind
So into the children’s section of the library
I went in search of village belles and fairies
A book of Celtic folk tales was my first find
As I read through the pages, it did remind
Me of the myriad folk tales of my childhood
Full of morals that I had only half understood..
I went back to the days when my companions literary
Were counselors of kings full of wisdom extraordinary
Their wit and presence of mind made for excellent
Stories to read, narrate or enact for amusement
Each story had a lesson in living embedded
Reality of life was through a fictitious tale threaded
Many Indian folk tales featured strong women
Standing up for themselves in a society dominated by men
In the era before Christ were some of them penned
In today’s world, their teachings are still relevant
I was not by any means confined, I must tell you
To Indian folktales, I read tales from other lands too
Some of my favorites featured a fool named Ivan
Who slept above the stove, in a Russian tradition
He always had brothers, wiser in people’s eyes
Yet when there was a crisis, Ivan the fool would rise
Since he paid no heed to the norms of society
Without any fear, he would fight the mighty
And emerge with a princess and a kingdom
He was simple with a good heart, so he always won
Trolls, gnomes and spirits from Scandinavia
Warmed my heart, taught me some trivia
About life in the Arctic climates that I
Had no other reference to go by
Tales of the Iroquois and the Tainos
Taught me about people I did not even know
Bamboo trees, dragons and other fire-spewing creatures
Were of folk tales from the Far East, prominent features.
I could go on and on, pouring into this verse
My fascination for folk tales, for good or for worse
Instead my six year old I shall entertain
With folk tales from a lesser known terrain.
Passion...unbridled 