'The Dead Are Not Under the Earth'

The brother of  one of our ABC scholars is about to be laid to rest.His sudden death occurred on January 2^nd but the funeral was scheduled for the 17^th, which is today.Six people from Winchester ABC have travelled from Boston to Philadelphia for the 10am Homegoing Ceremony.Sadly, I will not be  one of them due to some ill fortune in my own family, meager enough by comparison. But though I can't be there, the words to this song, by Sweet Honey in the Rock, have been playing in my ear for two weeks, every time I have thought of the Sawyer family.Now by some miracle I find it here on YouTube accompanied by a very moving video.Blessings on whoever made this blend, marrying these Eye-of-God kind visuals to Sweet Honey's beautiful and reassuring words. God’s blessings on the whole grieving family as they gather to celebrate, and give thanks for, the life of 24-year of Gerald Michael Sawyer Jr. now gathered to his own ancestors.

listen more often to things than to beingslisten more often to things than to beingstis the ancestors breath when the fire’s voice is heardtis the ancestors breath in the voice of the waterthose who have died have never, never leftthe Dead are not under the earththey are in the rustling trees, they are in the groaning woodsthey are in the crying grass, they are in the moaning rocks 

And now, the song in its entirety: [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSxjSherzaQ[/embed]      Sweet Honey in the Rock Ancestors’ Voices