^^^^^^^

gracias a mi compadre Roberto


at the end of a torrent of words
just before the quiet opens between us again
I ask him one more question

if we reject then what we remember
in favor of forward looking
and forgiving
if we cease to give our stories
the right to tell us anymore
in what ground
if not in the rot of memory
do we stretch deep roots
and thrive?

one atoning
and astonishing word
he offers

ceremony

life-giver ever free of grievance
time-keeper reinventing cycles
timeless space where we begin
and live again and again
antidote of beauty for memory's wounds
new story-weaver living only now

circles that embrace, defend, uphold
say all this work was not in vain
your labor springs up future past who knows
your offerings received into a greater whole
the beauty that you love in the world feeds you
and the love you give to beauty
in every sacred re-membering
feeds the world