REMEMBER YOUR ANCESTORS

Remember that when you were born,
each of the stars had a story.
Each of the stars was one of your ancestors,
looking down on you.
And they still are.

Available to you, to share with you
their wisdom, their tears, their laughs.
If you need guidance,
they will give you enough.

But only if you ask for it,
only if you dream for it,
only if you yearn for it.

They reside in the back of your mind
and in your imagination,
but they are there,– and they are real.
In the throes of your despair
and upon the stairs of happiness
if you ask them for guidance
they will come.

They were planted
when your parents
watched you take your first steps.

When your teachers
chastised you with bad grades.

Each time,
your ancestors snuck in, too.

That was their job.
To plant themselves in your heart
and in your mind
to come out when you need them, later.

So rely on them,
pull on them,
grasp at them,
and lean on them;
in your times of need
and in your times of celebration,
include your ancestors in yourself
and include yourself in them.