Dear Ancestors/We’ve Been Here
By Alice Sames

Dear ancestors,
What went wrong?
What is missing?
Where is our song?

 Dear ancestors,
We hold our ground,
We carry out hearts,
But in grief we are bound.

 Dear ancestors,
We miss you.
Many stolen too soon,
We still need you.

 We’ve been here,
We’ve always been here.
Our roots are as deep as the trees,
Our songs as old as the birds.

 This is our home
The water runs our path with us.
The wind dances with us.
We’ve been here.
We’ve always been here,
and the land has been here with us.