"A Distant Memory"

"A Distant Memory"

My grandmother was very old.
She kept me when my mother died.
She was my only family.
As I grew up, she was my guide.


My grandmother would sing to me
When I was just a little one.
She sang about the world around,
About the wind, the moon, the sun.


My grandmother would tell me tales
Of spirits from the air and sea.
She said her People knew their names
And lived with them in harmony.


My grandmother would teach me things
That other children were not taught.
She told me to respect the earth.
Her wisdom left me deep in thought.


“The old ways are not gone,” she said.
“My People live inside you, too.”
I didn’t want to understand,
But down inside, I think I knew.


I’d always felt their whisperings
From somewhere deep within my brain.
Just like a distant memory,
At first I thought I’d gone insane.


Heard the voices, heard the chanting,
Felt the power within my mind.
Knew the spirits of my People.
With me, their souls became entwined.


My grandmother just smiles and nods,
“I knew you were a Chosen One.
You carry forth our People’s hearts,
Their memories since time’s begun.”


Grandmother left me years ago.
The Spirit People called her home.
Her legacy she passed to me.
Inside my soul, the Spirits roam.


Now I am older, with a child;
He's calm and quiet, small and slim.
I think he hears their whispers, too.
The memories now live with him.