~Thich Nhat Hanh

The moment I die

I will try to come back to you

as quickly as possible.

I promise it will not take long.

Isn’t it true

I am already with you

as I die each moment?

I come back to you

in every moment.

Just look,

feel my presence.

If you want to cry,

please cry,

And Know

that I will cry with you.

The tears you shed

will heal us both.

Your tears and mine.

The earth I tread this morning

transcends history.

Spring and Winter are both present in the moment.

The young leaf and the old leaf are really one.

My feet touch deathlessness,

And my feet are yours.

Walk with me now.

Let us enter the dimension of oneness

and see the cherry tree blossom in Winter.

Why should we talk about death?

I don’t need to die

to be back with you.

~Thich Nhat Hanh

 

 

 

died 24 January 2022

Hope and Love by Jane Hirshfield

All winter
the blue heron
slept among the horses.
I do not know
the custom of herons,
do not know
if the solitary habit
is their way,
or if he listened for
some missing one-
not knowing even
that was what he did-
in the blowing
sounds in the dark.
I know that
hope is the hardest
love we carry.
He slept
with his long neck
folded, like a letter
put away.