Willows Gone from the Schoolyard
After school, Mr. Tang entered the office and said: The willows in the school were all uprooted. You could hear it in his tone, a slight regret.
However, I wasn't particularly surprised, because I believed that the removal of these willows represented a change. And any new change that begins, regardless of the final outcome, is based on the most basic starting point: to make everything better with all one's heart and soul!
In terms of personal feelings, I really liked the willows in the school. I had written an article titled 'Trees in Sui Zhong Campus' earlier, specifically mentioning willows on one side of the basketball court that had trunks just large enough for a person to hold in their arms.
In that article, I enthusiastically described, 'These willows stood in a row, and throughout the spring, they stood like guards, solemnly guarding the stream flowing through the campus. Later, due to the upstream construction and the change in the river's course, the river had long since dried up, but these willows didn't change their original intentions, and the countless strands of their drooping leaves, without asking for a reward, gave our eyes so much gentle and beautiful comfort.'
Now, the willow's appearance in the campus is no longer the same. Later people who wanted to know if they existed could only look for evidence in my article; this is a fact.
These willows bloom with pale yellow-green flowers every spring, with white tufts of seeds on the seeds, which after maturing, scattered freely with the wind. For a long period of time, these tufts weren't just piled up in every corner of the campus, but also mischievously entered the houses of nearby residents. Some willow fluff even secretly entered people's nasal cavities, causing distress to some patients with rhinitis, causing them to suffer terribly. This was also a fact.
After weighing the pros and cons, the painful act of sacrificing affection is sometimes unavoidable.
Although in the spring, willows are the most beautiful and 'graceful' trees. In the spring campus, the swaying willows always give people a feeling of vigorous growth and prosperity. I know that ancient people often 'folded willows' to bid farewell to them, which contained the wish 'spring will always be there.'
Willows grow quickly and can reproduce asexually, with strong vitality. 'Willow grows spontaneously when no one plants it' is a testament to their remarkable adaptability, which has undoubtedly made them one of the most widely planted tree species in China.
Therefore, when saying goodbye, people often fold willows to send them off, signifying that the departing loved one, like the willow branches scattered everywhere and able to live, will quickly take root and flourish in their new place. It expresses a wish for a friend to thrive in their new surroundings.
In ancient poetry, willows and the custom of folding willows to bid farewell are also frequently mentioned. 'Chapter Tai Willow' by Han Chu, a Tang Dynasty poet, states: 'Chapter Tai Willow, Chapter Tai Willow, green in the past, still there today?' The poet used the willow to express his feelings, asking if the willows of the past still existed, lamenting the passage of time and the changes in circumstances.
Li Bai wrote in 'Jinling Wine Shop Farewell,' 'The wind blows willow flowers throughout the shop, Wu Ji encourages guests to try wine.' This depicts a beautiful spring scene where the wind blows the willow blossoms, bringing a fragrance throughout the wine shop. A beautiful spring day, Wu Ji encourages guests to try the wine. This scene is truly breathtaking.
There's also Guo Deng in the Ming Dynasty: 'Year after year, travelers bid farewell, folding willows along the roadside.' Chen Weisong in the Qing Dynasty wrote, 'How many willow branches remain? Wait to fold and send them off.' These lines contain deep meaning and are worth pondering.
Therefore, willows can have many symbolic meanings, and it's natural for people to express their feelings through them. Similarly, because I heard that the willows in the school were removed, I then generated the above text as a tribute and thanks to the willows that once adorned the beautiful campus.
