The iron bucket rusted on the shore,

Where frantic claws engaged in horizontal war.

One crab climbed high, seeking the open sky,

But ten pulled down his shell, demanding he should die.

He spent his cycles figuring the "How,"

Until a sudden silence settled in his brow.

Like a stone monk, or a rabbit in its hole,

He dropped the battle and surrendered all control.

He sat quite still. He ceased to push or strive.

He let the frantic climbing crabs arrive.

They used his quiet shell to step and rise,

And scrambled out beneath the coastal skies.

They never reached a hand back to the floor;

They left him lonely by the ocean door.

But as he sat, an Angel walked the sand,

And touched the iron bucket with its hand.

"I saw your mercy, and I saw your grace,

You held the center in this heavy place.

No longer bound by claw or rusted tin,

Become the Rabbit, let the hop begin."

With powerful hind legs, he cleared the rim,

The mighty mountain tree was waiting just for him.

He hopped past bunnies playing in the sun,

And realized the horizontal war was done.

Then from the east, a massive wave arose,

A sovereign tide that cleanses and o'erthrows.

It swept the beach and dragged the climbers down,

Back to the bucket in the coastal town.

Years passed in peace up on the mountain high,

Until the Rabbit looked beneath the sky.

The tide had gone, the sand was cracked and grey,

The crabs were back, still clawing the old way.

Beside the bucket stood two different souls:

One wore fine gold, one carried empty bowls.

The rich one smiled with bright and exciting grace,

The poor one grumbled with a heavy face.

The Rabbit remembered what the scripture said:

You do not judge the clothing or the head.

You do not bow to wealth or chase the prize,

Nor mock the grumpy soul with bitter eyes.

With equal mercy for the rich and poor,

The Rabbit hopped down to the bucket floor.

He didn't lecture, argue, or debate,

He didn't choose a side or hesitate.

With one swift strike of powerful hind legs,

He kicked the bucket off its rusted pegs!

It rolled over, spilling them to the sand,

Restoring freedom to the entire land.

He didn't wait for thanks, or praise, or pride,

He didn’t check to see who stayed inside.

He turned right round, completely clean and free,

And hopped back up the hill towards his Tree.