Even today I still arrive.
A lot happened this weekend, and I'll talk about that later, but right now I can only think of Thich Naht Hanh. I've noticed recently that some people have been using my name. When I pass them in the hall instead of saying "Hi" they say "Hi Lucy." It has reminded me of a poem by the wonderful wonderful Thich Naht Hanh. The poem is called "Please Call Me by My True Names," and here are a few disjointed stanzas from it:
Do not say that I depart tomorrow
For even today I still arrive.
I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,
In order to fear and to hope,
The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death
Of all that are alive.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and laughter at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up
and the door of my heart could be left open,
the door of compassion.
Do not say that I depart tomorrow
For even today I still arrive.
I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,
In order to fear and to hope,
The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death
Of all that are alive.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and laughter at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up
and the door of my heart could be left open,
the door of compassion.