Pine and Cranes Prolong Life
At the edge of the world, where mountains rise like frozen waves and clouds drift as if remembering ancient songs, there stood a single pine bent into the shape of a circle. No one knew who trained its trunk to curve so perfectly, but elders said it grew that way by listening to time rather than the wind.
Within the pine’s living ring rested a hidden realm—jade-blue peaks breathing mist, rivers of light flowing between stone, and silence so deep it felt alive. This was the Gate of Years, where lifespans were gently measured, not counted.
Each dawn, a white crane returned to the pine. Its feathers carried the memory of snow and moonlight, its eyes calm with centuries of watching. The crane did not age as others did. It stepped lightly between moments, guarding the gate where heaven and earth quietly touched.
Green clouds drifted endlessly around the pine, the breath of nature itself. They carried blessings, prayers, and wishes whispered by travelers who never knew how close they came to immortality. Some asked for longer lives, others for deeper ones. The pine listened to all without judgment.
At the base of the tree hung a knot woven from time—threads of past, present, and future crossing endlessly. It reminded the world that long life is not merely years added, but harmony preserved.
When the sun dipped low and burned red like an old seal stamped upon the sky, the crane bowed once toward the mountains. In that gesture lived a promise:
Those who live with patience like the pine, and grace like the crane, would find their days stretching wide—
not endlessly, but meaningfully,
as long as the sky itself.
And so the pine continues to stand, the crane continues to return, and life continues—
prolonged not by magic,
but by balance.
May your years be long, and your spirit light up.
This artwork currently displays and available for purchase at Westminster College Hills Library located 3705 W 112th Ave, Westminster, CO 80031 with Art from the Heart 2026 Show. I’m so blessed to receive Best of Scratchboard Award for my artwork < Pine and Cranes Prolong Life>.
