Samhain
Set an altar for your beloved dead.
Put out food and drink, flowers,
the delights of the living.
Gather at the table.
Tell their stories – the ones
they couldn’t help repeating –
and their jokes the same.
Look for a while into the darkness.
Say their names.
Listen, and be still.
But do not expect them to answer.
If anything, in the hushed whisper
of blowing leaves just this:
It’s your world now.
We did what we could.
The living are the only architects
of the world to come.
Lynn Ungar
10-30-2020
Leaves & Pages 