I remember her smiling face whenever I am sad, and her soft voice comes to me, telling me not to lose my courage. I try to follow her way of being brave. I remember everything about her, and I do what she told me. I try to be like her—walk like her, with dignity and grace, and talk like her, being very serious. Whenever she talked, she gave everyone hope word by word. When she spoke with others, she spoke nicely, and could always convince people of anything.

I will be your shadow when you are alone. / I will be your ship when you descend, deep / into sorrow’s river. / I will be your smile when you are sad. / I will be your tears when you cry. / I will be your wings when you want to fly.

I looked at the sky… out of the window / It was filled with the sounds of black clouds / I was alone, silence surrounded me / Talking with my heart…talk alone / Alone teaches me how it is painful to be alone

The reason I want to meet President Obama is to share with him all the tears of my people. I know I can’t write about all our problems in one or two pages, and I know my letter can’t clean the tears from my people’s eyes. But I write it anyway.

Come together—begin a new day. / We want peace—come together. / Desire life together, / We want to build our home with mortar of love, / Together we hold the hands of our homeless. / Together—we need to understand each other. / We are from one land. Come together.