Remember

We remember our brothers and sisters, the loyal and faithful, the brave and courageous,
whom we lost amidst the horrors of war.
We remember the shining eyes, the warm embrace, the confident heart,
the photo albums, the life stories, the homes built with great effort and burned in an instant.
We remember the loving families, the beauty, the hope,
the eyes that look upon us with trust.
May the souls of those who have left us be bound up in the bond of life,
and their memory be connected to us by a thin thread of life,
like a bouquet of wildflowers and rainwater,
squills, golden puddles, almond trees,
oleanders and mulberries,
laughter carried on the flight of swings,
a beating heart, tenderness, and compassion.
May our souls be connected to theirs in deep memory and gratitude,
and may we choose life.
We remember
and we choose life.
In the gentle hand extended,
in the thin ray of dawn,
in the sprouting stem,
in the breath of the earth.

Translated by Levi morrow