Remember
Do you remember
the first day
you were alive?
Do you remember
when
you woke up,
and wondered
why you slept
so long?
What about the pain
when you remembered
the bad dreams
you wished for
and got?
Please,
remember your grief.
Remember,
the prayers
to make it right.
Begging for light,
lurching and reeling,
grasping for the rail,
crying out for a soul,
crying for a spirit.
Remember,
forgotten self,
no pride,
just shame
and emptiness
and hunger.
Please,
remember your heart.
Now there is joy,
and power.
Invisible wings,
victory and battle,
peace and great
stillness.
Love surrounds us,
friends await us.
The long road smiles
and the sky receives us.
All is light,
we are full to bursting.
But the weeds by the road
are freshly mown.
And voices call from the thicket:
dark voices.
Please,
remember your story.
William E. Rushman, November 1996