She was still dancing at eighty-five
And singing at ninety.
She aged gracefully
And died peacefully.
In her ever smiling face,
You would never notice
The painful life that she lived
In the bloody 20th century.
She lost her husband
To the Chinese bullet
And both her sons
One after another
She lost everything
That she considered hers
Including the country
And the civilization that she loved.
What she didn’t lose was her spirit.
“There is no time to be miserable,” she laughed,
“If we can’t do something useful,
At least live it joyfully.”
She always had a candy
For everybody she met
Whether old, young or a baby
She offered a candy and a smile.
Ringu Tulku
Gangtok. 31st Jan 2003