Wherever there is a Shrine

 

Wherever there is a shrine, there will be a remembrance

In the church graveyard, the town square

On a street corner, in a garden or under a paddock gum

 

Whether ten thousand attend or only one

Look out for the ghosts of the names engraved

They will gather again as they gathered once

Fathers, brothers and sons

 

The living and the dead united

Families and communities rejoined

In that hour of darkness before dawn

As the night begins to blend with the day

The spirits in our hearts and our imaginations take form

They touch us with a breath

That we know them once again

 

Let the sun’s first light dry your eyes

Return to your life with your heart uplifted

For their spirit has touched your soul

And yours has touched theirs

In a way that can only be experienced

Not pondered or understood

 

By your mere presence and by theirs

Lives cut short will live on

For they will not be forgotten