The Other Side Of The Mountains (For Erin Moore) Poem by Kong Yin

I will journey to the far side of the mountains,
I will be away a long while.

In my pack I put my favorite doll
and my sketch book
and your smiling eyes.
I set my tears in it too
but after a moment, I removed them.

Now, I lack nothing
nor will I shed tears.
You, on this side of the mountains might weep
lacking me,
but know that you and I will never be apart
you in my eternal gaze, and me, yours.

(A few days before Christmas, bright 7-year-old Erin Moore died after being hit by a rock slide while hiking with a group in the mountains. When I heard the news, I could not help feeling pain for her family. What a trauma they had to go through! In front of my eyes, I could almost see a beautiful little girl, scampering through the woods, dancing along, her hair streaming behind her, the mountains echoing her peals of laughter.

At the time I was on the Sunshine Coast, sketching raging water by a cliff, while thinking of Erin at the same time. Suddenly it occurred to me that Erin died at a creek bed, and I was standing right by a beautiful creek, surrounded by breath-taking nature. Erin must have adored nature as much as I; somehow an instant connection sprung up between her and me. Quietly I stole into my lodge, stayed up late and wrote this poem for her.)