The Boat People

Thich Nhat Hanh

You stay up late tonight, my brothers.
This I know,
because the boat people
on the high seas
never dare to sleep.
I hear the cry of the winds
around me-
total darkness.

Yesterday they threw the dead bodies
of their babies and children
into the water.
Their tears once again filled
the ocean of suffering.
In what direction are their boats drifting
at this moment?

You stay up late tonight, brothers,
because the boat people
on the high seas
are not certain at all that humankind exists.
Their loneliness
is so immense.

The darkness has become one with the ocean;
and the ocean, an immense desert.

You stay up all night, brothers,
and the whole universe
clings to your being awake.