Thanksgiving to Those Who Have Gone Before Us
Lynne Fukuda
Instructor of Anthropology
Central Texas College
E-mail: lfukuda@hawaii.edu
Dedicated in thanksgiving to those who have gone before us: our ancestors, family, friends, military persons, and those who died in the line of duty:
Walking along a dusty cemetery path,
I ponder,
What is the secret to life?
Each grave, each flower,
Signifies a life,
Signifies a death.
Why are we born,
And why do we die?
Why are we buried in the ground?
A voice spoke from the grave and said,
“Death is the continuation of life,
“We live to show how much we loved life”.
I scan the obituaries,
Still seeking the secret to life,
Still questioning why we must go.
I help to clean the gravesite,
Laugh and talk with my friends,
Water the grass, and place the flowers in the vase.
Then it comes to me --
We live to laugh and enjoy life,
To feel life beneath us on the earth.
We love the earth beneath us so much,
That we return to it,
When we die.
Each person, each soul,
Passes a golden light,
Onto the next when the person dies to one that is born and receives.
The skies above are blue and clear,
After the morning mists have cleared,
And the rains have subsided over the hills.
I laugh again and talk, feeling the golden light,
And the damp earth beneath me now,
Knowing that we are one with earth.
When we place our ears to the ground,
When we whisper sweet nothings to those who have passed,
When we smile at the grave, we are one.
Never forget those who have gone before us,
The sacrifices, the joys, the sorrows,
And laugh amongst the graves to spread joy.
Each All Hallows Eve,
Each Day of the Dead,
Each All Souls Day.
And each Thanksgiving,
And each Christmas,
And each birthday to send our love and thanks.
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