Forgive and Cultivate Wisdom

Mountains collapsed, rivers turned.
Heaven howled, humans quivered.

One laid crushed, one withered.

Fortunately their seeds were blown away,

some fell overseas, some in the country,

germinated and propagated continuously.

Let’s accept
those turbulent days
as our mutual ordained fate.

Let’s suppose
criminals’ condemnations
will be retribution of transmigrations.

Let’s see
our sorrow and hate
as some smother and haze.

Let’s cultivate
our wisdom and compassion,
adopt condonation and conciliation.

*  This poem was originally written in Chinese, too.

    On Qing-ming festival, or Spring Grave Day of 2002,

    I moved and buried my father’s remains beside my mother’s,

    and engraved this poem on the face of their combined new tomb.