By Winds-of-Dawn

*~*~*

This is something I wrote years ago for one of Jane Mailander's senad virtual luaus. You can find them at 852 Prospect by typing in "luau" in the title field of the search engine -- I'm not sure whether this piece is in one of the luaus posted at 852 or not.

The year I wrote this, we'd lost several good people. For some reason, when I saw this week's topic, my mind got stuck on the idea of funeral and memorial services as a celebration of a person's life. And while this is an old piece, I don't think I can top this in expressing this particular idea.

Happy Birthday to Mouse, and here's to our community!

*~*~*

Sing a joyful song, dance a glad dance,
let the fire burn bright tonight,
let our laughter echo in the night air,
let our voices drift across the endless ocean,
let our feet stomp in frenzied rhythm over the warm earth.

For our dead walk with us tonight,
their breathes caress our hair,
their hands flutter over our thoughts,
their eyes stare at us from the firelight,
their voices call us within our hearts.

Unseeing, we see them in each other's faces,
unhearing, we hear them in the waves lapping the shore,
unsmelling, their fragrance saturates our souls,
untasting, their memories flow bitter-sweet across our tongue,
unfeeling, we feel them with us always.

Sing a joyful song, dance a glad dance,
eat, drink, laugh, cry, and make merry.
For our dead walk with us tonight.

Fin

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