‘Alma the Palm’

Once upon a time there was a beautiful palm tree called Alma. She lived in the greenest oasis and had many children, yellow seed pods that loved each other like siblings. All was well in the paradise until one day a desert storm hit. It lashed Alma the palm so much that all the seed pods broke off from the tree. Poor little seed pods cried and tried to climb up the tree back to the head of Alma, but they failed. Upset, they started bickering amongst themselves where to plant seeds and build new homes. Unable to agree, the seed pods burst with hate, and all decided to go their own way. Toxic, some seeds travelled to the South, and East and others to the North and West hoping they would never see each other. As they left, a huge rainbow appeared in the sky. Their mother Alma produced a single magical seed pod and said to her:

You are the holiest pod of Alma the

Palm – palm – palm – palm

And when you burst your seed will bring

Calm – calm – calm – calm

Its light will soothe anger like a healing

Balm – balm – balm – balm

And so it happened that a palm seed pod travelled across the desert kingdoms searching for her siblings. She came across a magnificent stone castle on the high hill. Entering the gates, she heard rumors about frond wars. Desperate to stop the suffering, the seed jumped in the holes of cracked soil to plant the golden seed, but she failed. Dry, she soaked herself in pails of water and then buried herself in the watered soil, but still she failed to germinate. Many people saw her and kicked her with their feet, and she groaned in pain. Wounded, the seed pod went to the grain’s storage. There, the seed pods captured in big wooden crates told her it would take months for her to germinate. The seed pod shriveled until a human picked her up and took her on a journey across many oceans to her new home. Grieving, the seed pod said:

My siblings are seed pods of Alma the

Palm – palm – palm – palm

But they forget we burst for growth and

Calm – calm – calm – calm

But they choose war and reject peace as

Balm – balm – balm – balm

In the rich red soil, the palm germinated, and eventually grew into a palm. Time passed, and the palm produced many yellow seed pods, but no golden seed burst open to stop the frond wars. Wars escalated, yellow, toxic seed pods bursting with fire destroying temples, cities and oasis. The palm cried until one day a big rainbow in the sky arched over her. The harsh sun heated her seed pods. For the first time, the palm wished for her seed to burst open not to stop the war but to plant peace. Immediately, one of her seed pods fell into the soil. Ripened, it broke open releasing a golden light that illuminated the world. The warring palms saw it as an omen from Alma. They made peace and promised to never use seeds to destroy. Together, the 13 palms planted seeds of peace that grew into the greenest oasis where the clearest waters run. And still people whisper how a

A tiny seed pod burst from a holy

Palm – palm – palm – palm

How its humble golden seed became a

Balm – balm – balm – balm

And its light soothed the frond wars bringing

Calm – calm – calm – calm