Truth and the Chinese Lantern

Come closer, grandson, and I’ll tell you a tale,
the allegory of the Chinese Lantern.

Once there was a plant, lovely and mysterious,
her fruits enticingly veiled in lacy shadow.

The Chinese Lantern thrived in nearly any climate,
though given rich soil she spread beyond control
and killed off other plants in her exuberance, therefore:
in all things, moderation.

The Chinese Lantern tidily grew in poor soil,
lending her beauty to an otherwise arid landscape, thus:
where there is no struggle, there is no strength.

The Chinese Lantern seed pods dried to ethereal perfection,
their seeming fragility lasted long after the rest of her died away, and so:
death is the greatest illusion of all.

Chinese Lantern seeds were found in small, round, sweet fruits,
both medicinal and nutritious, but remained cloaked
in a paper shroud that had to be stripped away, so as the Buddha says:
three things cannot be long hidden, the sun, the moon, and the truth.

Admire the Chinese Lantern, dear grandson,
and remember the truths she teaches.