Grandma - The Other Side of the Ocean

Dear mother

My master is good to me

My seniors all care for me

This monastery teaches me

How great and noble the Buddha is

This letter I write for my mother

For the post I can't afford

Lies silently under my pillow

One full moon after another

Silently under my pillow

I cannot see my mother's face

1949 was the year I came to Taiwan

I was greeted by the rain of Keelung

The ocean breeze swept across my face

I walked around towns on my bare feet

As a refugee from China

The storm of the red corner

Blew away my protecting cover

This song of sorrow sung in time of chaos

Left me nothing but hunger and loneliness

I kept my strong faith

Where there is Dharma there will be a way

By our feet the road are made

Afflictions are beautiful waves

That makes the oceans brave

A dark night is made bright

With the presence of stars and moonlight

My master and teachers

My dearest mother

They are all on the other side of the ocean

With I alone on this side of the ocean

20 30 40 and then 50

Year after year

My birthday is the day when mother experienced pain

For this I get down on my kneels in front of Buddha

And pray for the happiness and longevity of my mother

And that one day

The son and his mother will meet again

For this I get down on my kneels in front of Buddha