And if I write with the blood of my ancestors,
will not these pages be soaked
with both their glory and their sins?
For what lives on through us
is a covenant of love
and a cauldron of war.
And not one fish
from a river
that has run dry
will feed the flesh,
but the ghosts
in our hearts
still sing
since the beginning.
So look not toward tomorrow
for answers that have yet to be received,
and seek not in the past
for those questions which have already been revealed,
but live in this moment as it is,
being both transient and everlasting.
Let those who have passed on
rest in the peace they earned,
and let your children’s children
be not burdened before their time,
but carry your own weight gladly
and know that all these days
have their own reward.