THE THIRD PRIZE OF FIRST SHAOLIN WAHNAM POETRY COMPETITION

(reproduced from http://shaolin.org/general-3/poetry-competition/third.html)

Davy Noguera

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You can read all the poems submitted for the Competition here

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They Burned Everything
Davy Noguera

They burned everything,

 

leaving nothing more than ashes

 

above and below the rocks.

 

And yet we still exist,

 

beyond all the temples,

 

with the world as our new temple.

 

The tree was torn limb from limb,

 

the flowers ripped away and thrown far

 

so they would sink into forgottenness.

 

But the pollen and the fruits were taken to the South,

 

beyond the borders of the kingdom,

 

beyond all the coasts and the oceans,

 

beyond time – devourer of all.

 

And the fruits gave their seeds to a new land

 

and from the pollen we birthed new life.

 

We’re no longer monks, but we carry

 

the code and the lineage.

 

With our hearts open like a sky without clouds

 

we spread joy and goodness throughout the world.

 

To the East, far to the East we don’t hide,

 

a new Patriarch has opened the treasure chest.

 

Heaven and its Immortals accompany him,

 

while beneath him the family grows.

 

This is the will of the Cosmos,

 

with its blessings to all.

 

Translated from Spanish into English by Andrew Robert

LINKS

Overview
All the Poems Submitted for the Competition