...May Those Who Are Still Alive Always Remember Poem by RIC BASTASA

the church bells
are tolling early dawn

the dogs are howling
on the lamp posts

as usual upon cold winds
an old woman departs

opens the door and the
gate of the house

covers her face with
a bandanna and then walks

the lonely streets of
her ancestry

enters the usual church of
all the old scented candles

prays for her kin and kids
and grand children

may life be good
may the years of life be long

may the dead have eternal life
may those alive always remember...