Why a God Sat Motionless on the Horizon


Once a god the size of a mountain sat on the horizon 
and though he was not made of stone,  his head never turned. 

The other gods were displeased.
  He neither spoke nor looked at them,
 but stared straight ahead. 
So, from a place behind the sun,  
the other gods hurled trees big as hills, 
rivers wide as continents, 
but they could not budge this god from his place. 

One day a bird, black with a red tear beneath each eye, 
flew across the horizon and sat on the shoulder of this god. 

Why do you never look to the left or right?  asked the bird.

I  see Death ahead of me,  the god answered, 
and I am afraid that if I take my eyes off him, 
he will come upon me unexpectedly.  

But if you do nothing except await your fate, 
your fate is already upon you, said the bird.

The god turned his head to answer 
but just as he did, 
a boulder the size of a valley struck him on his temple 
and he fell dead on the horizon.

And that is how even the wisest of words can hurt
more than they help.

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