Hadassah
Hadassah, pearl of Persia
Woman from out of Asia
Alpine daughter, red and white
Early gray yet a smile so young.
May all your Khmer children
Gather round on warm evenings
Full with the on rushing tropical breeze
Bearing the fecund scent of paddi mud.
To share your time and words
With open mouths full of laughter
Days full of moments lush with loveliness
Beautiful with green and gray, evening clouds and grass.
Black and white, fine checks on
Unlikely tropical scarves among nasal
French and curves of Sanskrit on old stone
Temples
among the wats and banyan trees.
Hadassah, white orient pearl
May half an emperor’s kingdom be yours
And love fill the bowls at the feasts you give
And friends be many, fresh, and vibrant
Gathered from the four corners of the earth,
Out of the Seven Seas, blown to your shore
By the winds at the edges of the wide world
Drawn by the archangels of heaven to complete your company
To give glory to your God, and mine,
And complete the covering of the corner of his garment
Over you, O daughter of the East
O splendor of Iran.
