Voices of the wind

They say the wind carries souls,
That’s what they say.
And if I were to believe them,
today would be the day.

The wind brought me voices,
Of people of the past,
And those of people whose lives
Will not much longer last.

People whose bodies,
Have suddenly given out,
And whose souls have given up, 
Finding a better route.

Some of us are nowhere near,
While others hang by a thread.
And others just lie around,
Waiting till they're dead.

After many years of interment,
An old man told me,
“Sometimes the greatest beauties, 
Are the ones we cannot see.”

“Be careful, my love,” 
said a woman, dead at 32. 
“The future is in your hands,
No one can change it but you.”

A young man of 16,
Body worn from a long fight,
Told me that knowledge
Is the only worthy might. 

Killed by breast cancer,
An old feminest, 73,
Said: “Speech is the greatest weapon
There could ever be.” 

A young man of color,
Only 21 in age,
Shot by police,
Said: “Life is a stage.”

Sick with disease,
A little girl of 4
Asked me: “What in this life,
Is there left to live for?”

All of these questions
And words of the wise,
All on the wind,
Make me revise.

[Voice illustration and cover art by Eloise Silver Van Meter]