Call me by my true names, by Thich Nhat Hanh

[Lisa Walford]

Throughout contemplative literature and teachings we hear that joy and pain are one, as Thay mentions in this poem. It can be heart wrenching to read the news these days, and heart warming to watch a child smile. To feel deeply is a precious gift. To laugh and to cry freely, without repressing, being embarrassed or anxious about your feelings is to embrace the night and day of reality with an open heart. I love this poem for its honesty, and I treasure Thich Nhat Hanh for his courage to represent things just as they are..   

Do not say that I'll depart tomorrow

because even today I still arrive. 

Look deeply. I arrive in every second

to be a bud on a spring branch,

 to be a tiny bird, with wings still fragile, 

  lerning to sing in my new nest,

to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,

to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.

I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,

  in order to fear and to hope,

the rhythm of my heart is the birth and 

  death of all that are alive.  

I am the mayfly metamorphosing in the 

  surface of the river,

and I am the bird which, when spring comes, 

  arrives in time to eat the mayfly.

I am the frog swimming happily in the

  clear water of a pond,

and i am also the grass-snake who,

  approaching in silence,

  feeds itself on the frog. 

I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,

  my legs as thin as bamboo sticks, 

and I am the arms merchant, selling deadly

  weapons to Uganda.

I am the 12-year old girl refugee

  on a small boat,

who throws herself into the ocean after

  being raped by a sea pirate,

and I am the pirate, my heart not yet capable 

  of seeing and loving.

I am a member of the politburo, with 

  plenty of power in my hand,

and I am the man who has to pay his

  "dept of blood" to my people,

dying slowly in a forced labor camp.

My joy is like spring, so warm it makes

  flowers bloom in all walks of life

My pain is like a river of tears, so full it

  fills up the four oceans. 

Please call me by my true names,

so I can hear all my cries and laughs 

  at once,

so I can see that my joy and pain are one. 

Please call me by my true names,

  so I can wake up,

and so the door of my heart can be left open

the door of compassion.