Don’t weep
Don’t weep
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B. T. -
Prison Poetry
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Oct 20, 2009
Venerable Thubten Chodron: B. T. heard that my mother died recently and wrote this poem. He said he read the last verse some years ago, although he cannot remember where or who wrote it, and that it inspired the rest of the poem. Thank you, B.
Do not stand by my grave and weep
I am not in the ground so deep.
I am in the sunlight from above
I’m in the newborn baby, the mother’s love
I am the bird in majestic flight
I’m the glint of snow on a moonlit night.
I’m the wave that breaks upon the dry beach.
I am your dreams that will surely be reached.
I’m the grass, the flowers, the trees that grow,
The clouds the rain and the gentle winds blow.
I am everything that we ever held dear.
I’m the hour, the day, the month, the year.
I am eternity, I’m here, I’m there.
Everything I am, I am everywhere.
I am the love that fills your heart
That will keep us forever from being apart.
Do not stand by my grave and cry
I am not there. I did not die.
Venerable Thubten Chodron
Venerable Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1977 by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India, and in 1986 she received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan. Read her full bio.
