Travelers- A free Verse Poem by Leona

Wandering through a land

Of milk and honey

-even a sailor knows better-

To break the dayspring

Hope of a new world

-even the woman in the church cries-

Left are those who become faces

Left are those green hill pastures

Wandering through a land

Of steel and bone

‘Troubadours’

To sing again with

Hearts fresh

Fresh milk and peonies

-even the radio tells me I belong-

Making new monikers to join

Ranks of other

Lonely bodies

Wandering through this land

Of stars and stripes

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These past three poems that I posted were inspired by the prompt: Ancestors. I wanted to explore my own relationship with my ancestors as well as humanity’s relationship with those that have come before. In many places around the world, ancestors are prayed to and honored through various rituals. Recently, I have felt the lack of ritual in the west. It’s not that I want to pray to my ancestors but I have started to realize how honoring them is a way to process their deaths. Then that brings up the questions, how do I honor them? What is honor? Since there isn’t really a cultural context for these answers, I am able to define my own version of honoring those who have passed. This all comes from thinking about life, death, sickness, healing, and the legacy I want to leave behind. It was really wonderful to process all these thoughts through poetry. Although these poems were not accepted to the online magazine, I am particularly proud of them. Thank you for reading and enjoying! It is always a pleasure to share with you all.

-Leona