Thich Nhat Hahn Poems

Thich Nhat Hahn is a contemporary Buddhist Poet. He has sought to offer what he calls “engaged Buddhism” to people from all over the world. His poetry appeals to both Buddhist and non Buddhist readers, it has helped him gain a reputation for being a soft spoken advocate of peace.

~

Disappearance

The leaf tips bend
under the weight of dew.
Fruits are ripening
in Earth’s early morning.
Daffodils light up in the sun.
The curtain of cloud at the gateway
of the garden path begins to shift:
have pity for childhood,
the way of illusion.

Late at night,
the candle gutters.
In some distant desert,
a flower opens.
And somewhere else,
a cold aster
that never knew a cassava patch
or gardens of areca palms,
never knew the joy of life,
at that instant disappears-
man’s eternal yearning.

 – Thich Nhat Hanh