Hello all. It's been an interesting time, and I'm not sure I know quite what to make of it all yet. But I thought maybe I could share my reflections in the best way I know how. I've written a story for you.
James
Godspeed Good Godwit
There
is only one thing I can promise you when the night stretches beyond
limit. You are not alone.
Deep
in the darkest and mirkiest blues, the moon shone through a speck of
cloud. That very same moon who hovered above the earth for seemingly
days on end. Beaming, shining, and glowing, the moon didn't move.
Like never before, he just towered above the wilderness in an endless
midnight kingdom.
The
animals began to gather along the ocean shore to stare at the marvel,
there up above gleaming in giant ripples across the ocean. They
wondered at this spectacle. How could he just sit there? Why wasn't
he driving steadfast across the sky chased by the sun? Would she
never return?
When
the sempiternal night clenches white knuckle tight, Good Godwit must
go, its time for flight.
When
the sun hides away, abandoning her northern stay, Good Godwit must
go, to save the day.
Soon
everyone was congregated in a bewildered horde, muscling back and
forth, arguing amongst one another. Worried seagulls fluttered about
the heads of walruses, aimlessly diving for minnows amongst the
brilliant puddles sparkling on the beach. Dark black crescents
crashed around frightened heads as a moose stepped with long lanky
strides over seal pups, in search of her daughter. The wolf family
crowded the flanks, singing haunted choruses as they corralled the
chaos. Ptarmigans bumped blindly into foxes before beating away in
the knick of time. Salmon huddled in a pool of silver moonbeams,
confused by the enormous bodies of orca and bowheads who glided past
into shallow shores. The great commotion was deafening as brothers
called to sisters and mothers calmed children.
Desperate cries of hunger and cold, plagued the eyes of younger
and old.
They began to see, something must be done. For it was clear to
all, they needed the sun.
Desperate cries of hunger and cold, plagued the eyes of the scared
and bold.
They began to see, they needed someone. Who could search the
darkness to find the sun.
The
crowd began to argue, escalating the chaos with accusations and
bickering. The orca began to shout at the bowheads. He blamed them
for not paying proper respects to the sun, they should have left
earlier to meet her where the ice grows. A long bearded mountain goat
stepped forward, berating the caribou. Then the fox snipped at the
wolves, and the wolves growled at the looming ice bears who peered in
from the foggy depths. Soon the entire mass clashed with foaming
teeth, howls, and bellows, a whirl of splashes and wingbeats, and
gnashing antlers. The rapacious assaults and raucous retaliations
could barely be made out in the darkness, but escalating yips and
grunts, followed by squawks and roars bore the most horrific
cacophony one could imagine. Just at the point where the rolling
stones, splashing waves, and stumbling boulders were deafened by the
violent gathering a giant beast appeared. Barreling forward out of
the darkness, as if incarnated by the fury to calm the wreck of
shoving masses.
This
does no good to hurt one another, stop this instant my sisters and
brothers.
Don't
you see, something must be done. For it's clear to us all, we need
the sun.
Stop,
do no more harm to each other, I'll climb the mountain to find our
mother.
They
began to see, what must be done. Brother bear would go retrieve the
sun.
A little voice in the back protested, claiming Great Grizzly could
not find the sun, only her, Good Godwit, the small flighty one. The
godwit came forward, landing near the bear's trunk of a leg, standing
barely above his paw. Her beak was long and slender, leading back to
a chestnut plume, poised with graceful and confident posture. The
animals, now more confused than before, stared blankly at this bold
character who stood on the shore. The silence fell unanimously like
the whisper of morning, only to be shattered by delayed laughter
bursting into devilish uproar. How could this small beast possibly
believe she was the one to save them. Her? She was the one to end the
endless night? No, certainly not her! What could she possibly do that
the others could not? Good Godwit could not fly as high as Eagle, and
he had never touched the sun. She could not swim like Gray Whale, who
never found the sun's resting spot across all of the depths of the
ocean. Good Godwit could not run like Caribou, and she certainly
never found the sun in all of her treks beyond the tundra. They
shouted at her, and belittled her. Even if she could find it, she
would never be able to bring it back, they said. She's too little,
too weak, they said. The wolves howled, loons laughed, foxes yipped,
wales sang, and moose snorted. They all laughed and laughed until
finally Good Godwit bursted into a flustered and defiant flight. She
yelled down to them, to stay in their misery, to fear and moan in the
darkness, to have no faith, it mattered not, for she would return,
and bring all of the warmth, hope and good grace of the sun upon her
shoulders. Rolling in a tortuous tangle of laughter below her they
scoffed, and sneered. They yelled sarcastically behind her, godspeed
Good Godwit, godspeed! Interrupted by bursts of cackling madness,
they screeched, do come back and save us! Godspeed! She quickly
vanished into the horizon.
Godspeed
Good Godwit, godspeed! You've got to believe Godwit, believe!
Full
speed ahead Godwit, full speed! Yo've got to succeed Godwit, succeed!
Because of his strength, his wisdom and prowess, the animals agreed
the bear was their champion. Following their disparaging farewell to
Good Godwit, they laid all of their trust into the old chief. And
with that settled he lumbered off through the willows. Great Grizzly
travelled through the cascading streams, gurgling quietly in the
still valleys. He marched up hillsides, through the northern yarrow
and mountain heather, past the pines. Up and up, over and over,
through the deep night he journeyed. His powerful paws carried him
farther than he had ever been before, continually headed east, where
she rises to bring a new day's hope. He came to the base of the
Mighty Mountains. He peered into the dancing emeralds and sapphires
that twirled above the ebony peaks. He began to climb, higher and
higher, until the winds whipped his hide. Great Grizzly's massive
coat stayed true. He fought through the banshee gales, past the ice
caverns, and glacial tombs.
At
last, long awaited and hard to climb, the mountain is conquered at
this precipitous time.
Now
fast, where's the sun you came to find, through valleys, hills, and
over mountain side?
Finally, with ice clinging to his fur, crystals in his breath, and a
view above the clouds, he surveyed the horizon. Even at this peak the
only light came from Moon, who sat pridefully above the world with
his troop of ballerinas. Searching far in the east, along the
horizon, he looked for even a sliver of light. Anything beyond a
moonbeam. But no, there was nothing but boundless blackness. He
turned to the south, back to where he came from, to the north,
nothing. This couldn't be. Darkness, eternal, stifling darkness was
all that could be seen from the highest peaks of the Mighty
Mountains. Great Grizzly returned to the shore with his head bowed in
sorrow, bowed in shame.
When
he returned from whence he came, he bowed his head in perpetual
shame.
The
beasts spoke not a word of blame, not even to mention as much as his
name.
The
others said not, they knew what was found. All hope was forgot, there
stirred not a sound.
The stillness of the mournful crowd was overbearing. After silence
like glass the whales began to moan in agony, followed by the wolves.
They cried up to the moon asking him to bring back the sun, together
the families howled at the obstinate king of the night. The moose
could muster not a single sound, petrified in worry of the future to
come. The others wailed in their own ways. All of the animals huddled
in tighter, forming a mass of solemn kinship against the bleak
shoreline. They stared out into the ocean, each secretly asking,
secretly hoping, but daring not to say a word. Their sullen faces
longed to see Good Godwit return, to bring the sun upon her
shoulders. Finally, Great Grizzly spoke.
All hope is not lost and we are not done, for we still have
strength to find the sun.
You each have talents, unique unto you. Travel the
darkness, follow through.
Those who swim, swim, and run, run, All of you like Good Godwit,
find the sun.
You
each have strengths, endowed unto you. Travel the darkness, may your
hearts be true.
With that said they all took off. Each creature took to their own
pathways. The orcas, bowheads, grays and other whales pushed out
from the shore. The bison and caribou took to the arduous plains. The
terns, eagles, and swans stormed the air in a flash of feathers.
Mountain goats searched for the highest peak, as the vole looked for
the deepest underground passageways. Everyone did their part. They
bumped along through the darkness, forever they seemed to disperse.
The birds flew farther than they ever had before, beyond their usual
lakes, beyond the mountains, beyond the forests, where the weather
was warmer, even hot and wet. It was of no use. Beaten and desperate
the famished beasts returned. One by one, the hooves clattered back
to that cobbled shore. The wings touched down, and paws padded over
the logs and creeks. Each exhausted animal collapsed back into the
huddled mass. The wolves smashed against the moose, the ptarmigans
warming the fox. Not a beast even had the energy left to turn on
another. Shrouded in the ink of the universe, with hides dowsed in
sweat and ripped by wind, bleeding claws, hoofs, and talons, frozen
coats, and sitting along the shore of deep and dark waters, the life
of the world heaved from their failing lungs to gasp their remaining
breaths. Afraid and weary, each began to retire. Each looked out unto
the sea, each muttering their final words. They released their
prideful desires with one last glance, finally unabashed, they
whispered, godspeed Good Godwit, godspeed. Their oppressor stared
down in flagrant apathy, beaming over the hope lost in his infinite
kingdom, the joy that seeped into the darkness.
This
is the end of the world. This is the end of all things. When shadows
consume all hope, and joy is lost. Death is no evil, no looming
cretin waiting to devour the hearts of all those that love, all those
who pump fiery passion into the springs of life. Death is no monster,
slashing and burning, casting lots into the ovens, cutting throats,
and milling through the souls of those lost. All of the heartless and
deranged misfortunes of an erratic and unstable universe,
are mere vehicles. They are the deliveries, dumping bodies at the
feet of eternity. They are not death. Death is deep, cold, hollow,
and alone. Huddled in our masses of hope, we are slowly ripped away,
one by one, by one. Death is eternal night and endless shade, it is
the obstinate misgivings of an oppressive kingdom.
As the last beast closed his eyes, he felt the most intense joy he
had ever dreamed, warm and calming. It stilled his massive heart and
brought peace to the wounds and worries of an incredibly tired old
bear. Great Grizzly felt the fire of life warming his coat as he
drifted, further away into hidden memories, the best ones. Those
special moments he saved for himself. His first salmon. The willow
patch next to the two pronged log. The view of storms barraging the
range. Those moments, the ones that remind him of how happy he is to
have lived his life. As the memories stirred, so did his blood. The
giant heart lurched piping blood through his veins as he felt himself
floating into the warmest pools and brooks. He thought of his cubs
with their mother, drifting through the meadows, splashing with the
minnows. For the first time in his entire life, he realized how truly
happy he was to have it. He did well.
Death
is not a choice.
But
time is. And this, my friends, is not that time.
As Great Grizzly drifted into the warm springs, the others
experienced this sensation as well. Their eyelids warmed as they
thought of the love and joy they knew, the happiness of arctic
squalls crashing an ice bed from deep below, the spring flowers
dotting an endless expanse, the pups, cubs, and kids. Life was more
beautiful in their moment of death than they ever knew. The warmth
spread, tingling throughout as they relived their individual worlds.
This is the beginning of the world. The heat grew and grew into a
raging wave of immense pleasure, until they opened their eyes to see
the golden brim of the sun crowning over the sea, blasting rays of
hope, disintegrating black to blue, to purple, with cascading oranges
and yellows of a reborn meadow. The ocean radiated in scales of
golden and silver embers, blinding the moon, and relegating him to a
fleeting existence forever amongst his troop of twirling sisters.
Eagle began to screech, look there! Look there! All eyes awake, all
in awe, the animals stared in amazement, as Good Godwit pulled ahead.
Starting a speck, just a silhouette, dashing ahead of the incredible
chariot, she came streaming towards them, sun on her back. Brought to
their feet, cheering, barking, and screaming, the animals strained
into the sun to see their hero. The livelier pulled the weaker, the
big helped the small, all working together, renewed with hope and
faith in the world. She did it. She truly did it! That brave and
beautiful little bird did it!
Godspeed
Good Godwit, godspeed! You've believed Godwit, and succeeded!
Full
speed ahead Godwit, full speed! You've found the sun Godwit, and
retrieved!
The creatures were ecstatic, jumping and splashing, diving and
dashing, and running all about. She truly pulled it off. They were
saved. That is, all except one. The great bear still lay where he
rested, smiling and thinking of fresh flowers in the glen, cubs, and
salmon. For Great Grizzly was ready, he had been to the mountain and
back. He had grown old, and seen his cubs. He was ready. For Godwit
however, she needed to know that there was still a world full of love
and beauty. She had more to see, more to do. She had a choice. She
knew it was worth fighting for, traveling to the ends of the earth
for. Good Godwit flew nonstop to the ends of the world, to pluck the
sun from its hiding place. Her graceful wings carried her with
confidence, despite the fears and doubts of others. She was
unbeatable and courageous, gorgeous and passionate. She launched
herself through an endless night to find the one she loved. She
needed the sun.
Godspeed
Good Godwit, Carry on!
Godspeed
Good Godwit, be strong!