Promise Me

These are difficult times for a lot of us, terrifying times for some of us, and infuriating times for all of us. And that seems to me to be a good time to post this poem by Thích Nhất Hạnh, Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist. He wrote this in 1965, during the war in Vietnam Nam when his life and the lives of his students were at risk on a daily basis. I read this whenever I’m feeling infuriated or hopeless. It helps return me to a more centered place in my heart, and I hope it helps you. Big love, Auntie Kate

PROMISE ME

Promise me,

promise me this day,

promise me now,

while the sun is overhead

exactly at the zenith,

promise me:

 

Even as they strike you down

with a mountain of hatred and violence;

even as they step on you and crush you

like a worm,

even as they dismember and disembowel you,

remember, brother,

remember:

man is not our enemy.

The only thing worthy of you is compassion—

invincible, limitless, unconditional.

Hatred will never let you face

the beast in man.

One day, when you face this beast alone,

with your courage intact, your eyes kind,

untroubled

(even as no one sees them),

out of your smile

will bloom a flower.

And those who love you

will behold you

across ten thousand worlds of birth and dying.

 

Alone again,

I will go on with bent head,

knowing that love has become eternal.

On the long, rough road,

the sun and the moon

will continue to shine,

guiding my way.

Thích Nhất Hạnh