I can’t remember your face or even your name, but I can feel you. Every night I dream about the wars you won and the battles you lost.
You trained for years so that I could master the same skills in months.
Your pain gives me humility. Your joy reminds me that even the darkest night will end with a sunrise.
I am grateful for your existence though I’ve never known your physical presence. You were a warrior spirit, you graced me with your indomitable will.
Your sacrifices gave birth to my spiritual gifts. Without you there would be no me. Ancestor I honor you by remembering that I am you. You did not die, you live on through me. I cannot remember your face or even your name, but I can feel your love for the trees. I love them too. I can feel your respect for the water, she cleanses me as she did you. I can feel your sense of self and because of you I never get lost in the physical world.
The faces I cannot remember, the names I cannot recall, the homes that no longer stand, the traditions that have been long forgotten, I will breathe new life into them.
I am an ancestor too. I will keep record of my family tree so my descendants will know the names of those who came before them. I will take pictures and save them so generations can see the beauty that birthed them. I will document our traditions so they may never be forgotten again. I will build upon land that all within our bloodline may call home.
I honor you by restoring our forgotten tribe. By birthing a healthy family I ensure that I will be an ancestor called upon by name. I ensure that my descendants will remember my face and sit within the same spaces I once did.
I am a living ancestor. My body is new, my soul is ancient.