FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION

L’dor vador—from generation to generation—

I pass to you

Not the giddy joy of success,

But the lump in the throat the signals

The wisdom to speak softly in a fragile world.

Through these finger tips

Pass sensual gifts—

The feel of sand between the toes,

The eye that captures

The flight of the gull at sunset,

Take them, child of my child—

The ability to grow inside the mind,

To change, to forgive, to love.

Take them,

And when you grow old,

Bequeath them l’dor vador,

For these are the things that remain worthwhile,

That make life worth living.

            S. Anne Sostrom