Once …
… in an antique land
there ruled a wise and just queen
This woman was beloved by all her peoples
and there had been peace for many a moon.
One dawn, she called her three children :
“Oh, my daughters, my time is coming
and only one of you may reign.
Bring for me a token of your love that I may
decide who.”
The eldest daughter brought a glittering
trinket.
“Oh, mother! I love you more than the
shimmering beauty of this gold. My love for you
is immeasurable – beyond compare”.
The younger daughter brought a diamond of
the rarest clarity.
“Oh, mother! My love for you shines clearer than
the light of this gemstone. My love for you is
indefinable, and beyond value – like this jewel”.
The youngest daughter brought a rough hewn
bowl of salt.
Her two sisters scorned the gift.
“This is your love? One of us will rule.”
Her answer spoke to her Queen.
O love of my heart
When I put these crystals on my food
I think of you
When I cry tears of joy
you laugh with me
When I weep for your absence
I taste your memory
When I perspire in the golden sun
you bathe with me
You are my salt. You are beyond price

In time, the queen passed, in peace
and in time all the sisters became wiser
The ripening crops in all their lands became their gold
and the sweetest rain, their diamonds.
Salt is forever in our oceans
beneath us and within us
This is for you
Forever