Undiscerning gift

Once there lived a woman in a small town in the North
She was a widow, and owned a business, a trinket shop
Her world was centered around her little son, her life,
He was the only memory she had left, of being a wife

The little boy was a gentle soul, serene and calm
He was always helping others and acting as a balm
Her sorrows were many but all he had to do was smile
And she felt joy well up in her heart without guile

One day at play, the boy wandered away into the woods
Around him was darkness, and came a snake with a hood
Which bit the little boy who had stepped on it in haste
Causing the venom to spread, took his life laying waste

The Mother was beside herself with grief and ran to the mount
Where she heard the Buddha had arrived, serene and profound
Prostrating herself before, she asked for a release from grief
She wanted to get her child back, seeking from death a relief

Buddha looked at her with kindness and compassion, and spoke
"Go into the village yonder and find me a home that revoked
The Natural order and has not lost a loved one to death's door
Get me water from their hearth and your son shall live once more"

The grief stricken mother ran into the village and accosted
Every mother she could reach, asking the question requested
But everyone had a tale of death and loss, thus she came to know
That death's gift is undiscerning, between the high and the low