Category: Journal

Samples entries from my own allegorical journal

  • The Ash Tree’s Burden

    The Ash Tree’s Burden

    In the valley, a proud ash tree stood quietly at the edge of the meandering river. An ancient bridge straddled the river. It was built long before the ash tree had even pushed its first green shoot through the ground. No-one could remember who had built it but many depended on the bridge to get…

  • The Moth

    The Moth

    The moth looked at her drab brown wings. She sighed longingly. The butterflies were so beautiful in comparison. Their colours danced in the sunlight, reflecting every colour of the rainbow and she only got to sit hiding in the darkness. It just didn’t seem fair. So she started to plan. She painted her wings in…

  • The Shore and the Sea

    The Shore and the Sea

    The shore was so insecure. She knew she had found a good friend in the sea. Whatever the sea’s mood, its waves greeted the shore with a comforting consistency, sometimes with a gentle ripple, other times crashing down with an anger and fury caused by the conditions surrounding it. But the shore had been let…

  • The Walled Garden

    The Walled Garden

    On the edge of the hills, where few travellers wandered and fewer people called a home, there lived a woman. The woman liked the stillness of her home because, for some reason, being alone made her feel less lonely. During the summers, tourists would arrive with their demands and their questions. It distracted her peace…

  • The Valley of Gifts

    The Valley of Gifts

    The confused girl wandered aimlessly around the neverending valley. Despite the fact that the valley guided her journey she encountered unexpected obstacles along the way. In one moment she could be dealing with a laughing hyena trying to play tricks on her. In the next stretch of the journey, angry crows would be trying to…

  • The Rejected Well Keeper

    The Rejected Well Keeper

    The well keeper had been wronged. She had worked hard, carefully tending the well, removing weeds and repairing cracks. For many years she had ensured that the water remained fresh and wholesome. She felt proud of what she had achieved. Ensuring that the village had clean water was not a celebrated role like that of…

  • The Abandoned Lighthouse

    The Abandoned Lighthouse

    Just off the shore, on the south westerly tip of the island, stood a lighthouse. It had been built many years before, when this part of the seas had been a busy trade route. It had seen huge ships carrying valuable cargo to rich men in elaborate houses. It had also been a guiding light…

  • The Snake and the Little Bird

    The Snake and the Little Bird

    In the depths of the ancient woodland there lived a scruffy, unassuming little bird. She loved to go about her day gathering twigs to help other creatures to build secure homes. Sometimes she would fly around the woods gathering litter and moving hazards to prevent others from coming to harm. The little bird was a…

  • The Swan and the Paper Crane

    The Swan and the Paper Crane

    The tired girl wandered slowly beside the shimmering lake. She had been here many times before but today her heart was heavy and her mind was impatient. Usually the lake was a deep blue colour but today it was a dull grey, reflecting both the uninspiring weather and the girl’s dampened mood. Then, in the…