Unfairness abound

By now, it has become quite obvious that there is nothing fair in the world. The more one expects a just place around here the more disappointed he/she would be . It is in this context I came across a story and poem that strikes the chord and shows how one finds calmness amongst the most unjust of situations.

During world war II, an American pilot had parachuted from his airplane and was injured in the fall. The writer of this poem, Senri Ueno, started operating on him, but during the operation he was ordered by a senior officer to kill him. He did not obey the order and continued to operate. In the middle of the operation, the place was bombed and he had to leave. When he returned, the American pilot had been stabbed to death by somebody else. Nobody knew who did it, so the person who wrote this poem took all the blame for the crime and was executed. He wrote this poem a week before he died.

Thanks to lamenting over the pain in the world
I am able to become laughter when my life is happy
Due to being struck and trampled upon and biting
my lips to control my temper, i fully realize how
precious it is to be born. Even if I am intentionally
tired of an ugly world, look! what a blue sky!
Even if one laughs scornfully at my penniless life,
there is something much more beautiful,
true and worthy that everyone knows.
I don't care so much about anything else,
except love and sincerity, the sun,
and a little amount of rain from time to time.
If I have a healthy body and a little piece of bread,
I want to walk with a smile in great spirits.
I will do my best to work without complaining
about anything at all.
I always consider things by putting myseld in another's
place without flinching, no matter how hard and
heartrending it is to live.
If there is someone unfortunate, I will help
him out with anything.
If I can forget myself to help out,
that will surely delight me.
In the morning the sun raises. I greet it.
I will do my best to live today.
In the evening, the sun sets.
Staring at the evening glow, I want to sit still.
With a little dream in my heart, I sleep
as quietly as little bird.
If I have my own time, I want to spend it
reading an old collection of poems, meditating
on them alone, quietly.
Let's find happiness by ourselves.
Withing silver tears like pearls and laughter like the sun,
let's keep walking ahead each day.
Certainly some day, as I look back over my past,
I will quietly see my life with a smile.

[Translated by Dainin Katagiri Roshi]

PS: The story and the poem has been taken from the book "Returning to Silence : Zen in Daily life. By Dainin Katagiri"