If I asked the poor, “Are you happy?”
He said, “No. The merchant is happy.”

If I asked the merchant, “Are you happy?”
He said, “No. The king is happy.”

If I asked the king, “Are you happy?”
He said, “No. God must be happy.”

If I asked God, “Are you happy?”
He said, “No. The saint is happy.”

If I asked the saint, “Are you happy?”
He smiled and said,
“Yes — because I have nothing.”

When I asked the moon,
“Why are you always compared with beauty?”
Maybe it's because
I am the ugliest.

When I asked the rose,
“Why are you the first gift in love?”
Maybe it's because
I meant to end it.

“The past is never over —
it stays with us,
like a nightmare living in the present.”