Pala & Amala Poem by Tenzin Tsewang

Some nights, the night is long like a scheme for enlightenment.
Pala doesn't understand the price of what's on offer;
Acts of illusion, a few words on devotion,
Morally trick him, like a 'Buddhist project.'

Pala is innocent, like a Yak
Who only wishes for a green pasture to chew.
To this, the foolish Amala would cry
She is urban, sophisticated,
A little Lhasa Apso who knows how to win her master.

Amala knows languages, both old and new.
When power corrupts and ideologies freeze,
She argues that the definition of freedom evolves with greed.
Ideas, identity, race, autonomy, or independence
They change in agreement among friends and foes,
Like American Dollars remitted to Indian Rupees.

When leaves fall in winter,
Beholding the bare, soulless tree,
Pala sinks down into despair.
But Amala is a sharp reminder;
She notifies him that Spring is near, just next door.

History is a popular trail, she says,
No matter how long or dark the night,
The day shall triumph.