"That year, although I was still very young
My mother left me,
And I realized
That I was an orphan.
Everyone around me was crying.
I suffered in silence . . .
Allowing the tears to flow,
I felt my pain soften.
Evening enveloped Mother's tomb,
The pagoda bell rang sweetly.
I realized that to lose your mother
Is to lose the whole universe".*

My mother has passed away.

There will be no new posts on Not a Fish for a week or so.

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*Vietnamese poem quoted by Thich Nhat Hanh in A Rose For Your Pocket.