The Mountains Sing

by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

Somehow I was sure that if people were willing to read each other, and see the light of other cultures, there would be no war on earth.

We’re forbidden to talk about events that relate to past mistakes or the wrongdoing of those in power, for they give themselves the right to rewrite history.

history will write itself in people’s memories, and as long as those memories live on, we can have faith that we can do better.

đi một ngày đàng học một sàng khôn—Each day of travel earns one basketful of wisdom.

I realized that whenever humans failed us, it was nature who could help save us.

Only through love can we drive away the darkness of evil from this earth.

But it didn’t matter how long or short we lived. It mattered more how much light we were able to shed on those we loved and how many people we touched with our compassion.