Voices From the Past

                                                           

                                                             

                                    Voices From the Past

                                     April Smith Hajjafar

You see names scrawled on paper, faces in old photographs;

but you can't see our tears, you can't hear our laughs.

But we also once knew both joy and sorrow.

We also once longed for yesterday, yet still dreamt of tomorrow.

We too knew struggles, births, fears and loss.

We knew a simple mistake could come at great cost.

We also knew hunger, contentment, defiance, much more.

Yet with ingenuity and tenacity, life's burdens we bore.

We once lived, once loved, once laughed, once cried.

And yes, in the end, we also died.

But to return to this world, we need not long,

for within each of you, we still live on.