Ancestor Connections

“When she dies, / Who will I be on the other side?”

“Born 1898 / Nana slept in the second, narrow bed in my room.”

“Forty years Moses / wandered in the desert / to reach a land he would never walk upon.”

“This is how memory becomes a seed– / not buried, / but planted.”

“Together we will plant seeds of justice and peace.”

“I ignite a match and think of our ancestors / as though they were just upstairs…” 

“May there never again be war.  Wasn’t war  lifetimes ago? Who wants war?” 

“Soft layers of quiet are my dowry…”

“So I studied my family’s history her story / create joy in her holy days…”

I reach to you, stumbling // on stones, on translations.