links in a chain
everyone deserves to be seen,
everyone deserves to be appreciated,
it gets more challenging to do so
years and decades after they've died,
there's a charge that works on me now
to have my generation carry the heavy load
and share stories and insights about our parents,
about who they were able to be
with what the world threw at them,
and how they did their best to be, and to do,
I use Zoom to record about an hour of family
reminiscing and visiting about the patriarch and matriarch
within a branch of the family,
stories shared call up other stories,
lessons learned, lives appreciated,
then offered through online streaming
that's easily accessible and shared:
no popcorn, but there are tears, laughs, "aha" moments,
and in the comfort of sitting around the digital "fire,"
the stories hold us and remind us
that their lights still can shine within us,
we are each links in a chain,
and we should explore the earlier links
to which we are still connected,
even though the circle of our current lives
can feel complete in itself,
as a grandparent I celebrate the forging of new links
to reach toward an indefinite future.
by Henry H. Walker
February 1, ‘26
No comments:
Post a Comment