All Souls Day

Today many Western churches remember the dead. The names of deceased family or friends are presented in church for prayers. Someone who is reading this right now maybe gobsmacked, others who have heard of it before and do not subscribe to these rituals may discount or simply dismiss these practices.

At one time or another all of us have lost someone we once cherished and put our trust in and thinking about them does evoke some response in our hearts as multitude of memories no doubt flow. Even my three year old daughter sometimes sits down and expressed her disbelief  that  her grandpa is not coming back, perhaps it has something do to with it is coming up on the anniversary of his death. Sometimes still when she achieves anything she wishes he was around to share in the experience.

Recently I too have been thinking about my deceased maternal grandfather (Papa) and him kneading the bread for my grandmother to bake and how he would ensure I get hot bread out of the oven with salted butter. I think of paternal grandfather (Dada) sitting outside the house with a cap on the landing beating a pound cake for my grandmother to bake. I can now taste the cakes, using a mixer could not provide such a smooth batter as he did in kneading the cakes with all the love in the world.

In the spice island of Grenada in the Caribbean today it is a tradition for islanders to a gather their family and visit the graveyards placing lit candles on the graves as they honour to share moments of remembrance. This is a tradition that goes across many cultures and religions. Celebrations in other parts of the world include;  some people wear ing masks, carrying signs, or erecting elaborate decorations to honour the dead.

According to the Columbia Encyclopedia “Some community centres invite people to commemorate their deceased loved ones with ofrendas (offerings) through alters that include food, symbols, flowers, candles, photos and other mementos. Altars in memory of the dead are also made in people’s homes.”

Whether there is scepticism or out right denial about the validity of the concept of All Souls Day; as we recall the memories of our love ones collectively today, the one thing that we all share in common is that we honour their lives that they once shared with us.

Ode

Your grey rock stone body awash with

Wild berries, purple, blue  flowers, shrubs

Defy mother nature

Cemented in the dirt yard

Unmoved, over a rock ledge

As the goats tether

-

From a crack through the window

Paved that hard finality

Behold the village that raised you

Held in the crevices of the valley

Yet a glimpse of the mountain you see

-

Now I remember my teenage years

Filled with bible verses you fed me

As you felt for the hallowed pages

Your chanted incantations

Echoed in every room

That old wooden house

The wrap-around porch

-

Tears stung as it did that day

Proud to have known you

We knew nothing of how we would say adieu

They read your last will and testament

Before they left you that day

In the graveyard so all can hear

I was too young to understand

The earth must have shaken

The dust filled their eyes

-

Today I wore you like vermilion

I sit and recall the meaning of that day

I mourn, my throat tightens

My ear rings

Listen,

The birds fly freely as they sing

Your love mirrors my very essence.

-

Poem written by Brenda L. McCartney

September 11

This moment, this day, eight years on the date September 11, 2001 still has resonance today in 2009. Listening and watching the events replay the memories still remain vivid.

As we remember those who died that day let us console ourselves with thinking; good-byes and hellos are a part of the same cycle. Let us be thankful for our lives and those moments that have made us stronger and give us lessons that we need to learn.