Tenzing, the young monk,
Kneels upon the earthen floor
Fervent in his prayer
To the Lady of Mercy
Compassion
Come My Lady, he prays,
Show me the naked human heart
Show me the common place
Where we are all the same
Let me see with my own eyes
Your truth
That each of us
Simply desires happiness,
Doesn’t want suffering.
She came to him then
Her beauty spilling his mind
The long blade in her hand
Taking him to the place
Where his screams
Would not be recognized as human
Save by those who knew her.
There,
Holding him fast with love,
Her tears streaming,
She carved deeper the vessel of compassion
Into his naked, human heart.
