Voices call my name, their words riding on the wind 

Blazing me a trail of hope through dangerous lands Each one sparking flames of courage in my heart The voices I have come to call my family.  The radiance of their joy turns darkness to light As they greet each other with a loving embrace My fellow wanderers on the paths of life. Each one hiding glittering crystal depths Beneath every hard obscuring shell Our very selves to be revealed to each other As we walk this long, hard road together, The travelers who have become my sisters.  They form minds and hearts with gentle hands Like a sculptor removing flakes of crumbling rock Until only pure flawless stone remains behind To be carved by them into a great masterpiece. They carve with a chisel of wise words of truth Given freely to any who seek them and listen Truth that will sustain us on the long trek ahead Our wise parents, ever preparing us for our journey.  Like builders laying the foundation of a palace, They keep quietly building with the bricks of their lives A city of peace in a world full of suffering. Hated and scorned by those who distrust them But silently trusted by all those they serve, They warn us of dangers on our path in life And are hands that save those overcome by life’s struggles These selfless men we call our fathers.  Servants of love at every moment of their lives Never ceasing to spread that love to all people Loved in return by those who see the light of their hearts Yet to others, humbly hidden in their silent service. Revealing the beauty of their own selfless sacrifice With angelic voices raised in the song of their hearts These women of hope with words of joy on their lips Each becoming a true mother to us all.  We may even now and soon will all be Spread as far apart from each other as  Tiny grains of sand scattered by the mighty wind Each on our own path that may one day cross another’s Trusting always in hope of the whisper of the wind That set us on these roads in the beginning And will keep guiding us in the years to come.  Still, my heart will walk with each one of them And their own with me because they are  My family.