Sister Jina reads this poem from Call Me By My True Names - The Collected Poems of Thich Nhat Hanh, republished here with the kind permission of Parallax Press.
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A LOTUS JUST BLOOMED ON THE OCEAN
A lotus just bloomed on the ocean.
A baby was born amidst the waves.
At midnight this January 30th,
two hundred eighty-one people aboard the Roland
pray silently,
their eyes on the ocean.
The eight-member crew directs the ship
south towards Tioman Island.
They are without water
and hope to refill the tank.
The waves tap on the sides of the boat,
punctuating the prayers.
The moon has already disappeared.
Only the light of the stars
shines the way for you to enter life, little one.
Down below, the waves are shaking their silvery heads.
The mother, lying on the bare deck,
does not have a private room
to welcome her newborn.
And the doctor,
also one of the wandering boat people,
stands up to address the others
with the good news.
The cries of the baby entering life
are swept away by the wind.
The mother smiles faintly,
and two hundred eighty-one people clap their hands
as the captain announces,
“We are heading south,
and our population is now two hundred eighty-two.
Let us give thanks to Buddha and to God.”
The small radio linking the ship to shore
transmits the good news to the continent.
The human race is still there.
Tonight, on solid land, they learn of the coming into life
of Rolanda Thi Nguyen.
Where do you come from, little one,
and where are you going?
Why did you choose to come to life on this wandering boat?
She does not ask questions,
but we have to give answers.
Who has the heart to let the tiny lotus flower
that bloomed at midnight on the waves
perish in the depths of the ocean?
Brother, Sister, tell me,
where should we bring her?
We need your help.
In 1976, during an operation to help the boat people, a
baby was born on one of the boats we hired, the Roland
.
When we received the news that she was born, I wrote this
Poem.