Singing for the Tears of the Moon

Do you know why you are here on this planet at this time?

Our grandmothers sent messages to the world--“Sing to guide those who have gone before us, bury what we carry in the grave” and “Study the minds of those who started wars and violence and heal them without shedding a drop of  blood.”

I see that we need to start a new life without carrying the past; yet this will occur only after honoring the dead.

I have a dream of building a memorial park, a park that honors the dead through the living and the living through the dead. This is to sing for the tears of the moon—our grandmothers—the same moon witnessed our uncles’ and our aunts’ death, the same moon has lived with our history since the beginning, the same moon will shine tonight, the same moon will shine in our children’s future. In the center of the circle, there will be a monument for the dead souls who have gone before us. Their souls will be surrounded by four columns, representing four directions and the four seasons. This is to honor the dead souls as victims of violence. This is to honor the dead souls as victims of war. This is to honor the dead souls as victims of ethnic cleansing. This is to remember the dead souls who died without preparation, like those in The Nanking Massacre, The Indian Massacre, the two atomic bombings in Japan, The Holocaust, The Polish Massacre, The Cambodian Genocide, and the 9/11 attack. This is to remember the dead souls who never came back home after being kidnapped, like my great uncle and my aunts. This is to remember the dead souls whose wings were clipped, so they never had the chance to fly, like my father. At last, this is to mourn with people who lost their loved ones and are still in grief, like the families of those who died in the 9/11 attack. In order to mourn the dead through the living, four columns will be connected by a path with arrows that direct people to walk in a clockwise direction, like summer leading to fall and winter then back to spring. Whoever feels regret for the past and present violence can come to this memorial park to express their sorrow. And whoever wants to say, “Thank you” to the dead souls will be welcomed.