The Needle of Samsara

The lyrics of my song, "The Needle of Samsara," has been translated from Tibetan to English by my sister Dickyi, who writes at Yuthok Lane. This song is a dedication to the nomads of Tibet, who're arguably the most vulnerable population on earth today. Even as they struggle against Beijing's campaign to wipe out the nomadic way of life, they're also the first ones to be impacted directly by climate change. Read more at Tibetan Plateau.

All beings on earth cling to suffering
The road beyond suffering is covered in dusk
My beloved father left home to look for a living
Many years later he is still unreturned
My family has been scattered to the four winds and eight corners
Oh the burden of fate will not be erased

The sky is blue, the blue of turquoise
The turquoise falls to earth and breaks into a thousand pieces
The lake Yamdrok Yumtso has frosted to ice
An iron-sheeted wind enters my tent
I wish to make fire but the firewood is all gone
Oh how I shiver in the cold

When the snows melt, the river-source ends
When rainwater ends, the fields turn dry
When the dry earth cracks, the pastures become a wasteland
The birds and beasts lose their pair
And the yak, sheep and animals starve
Oh how I mourn the loss

I mean to have peace of mind but
When the body breaks apart, endless tears fall
If this human world is the needle of samsara
The peak where I live is the point of that needle
If my nomad’s story were to end here
Oh the burden of fate will not be erased