Who Were They?

Generation before generation
Bridging cultural transformation
Dying
To uphold tradition and ushering change

How can I know you
Now that you are gone
What might I embrace
Of those I've never known

What might I celebrate
Of our legacy?
What do I grieve
That you failed to release?

I listen on the wind
Straining to hear
The song
That once defined us

I search the legions
For the face of recognition
I taste the salt of your tears
As I walk the seaside

Will two calls harmonize?
Echoed across the valley of time
Ancestry within the marrow
And a soul seeking remedy to spiritual amnesia

To those that have gone before me
I can't even imagine
What led to my being here... now
My undying gratitude - I presume my view

Is provided, from atop your collective shoulders.