Dia De Los Muertos Poem by Sheena Blackhall

The Day of the Dead in Mexico,
Passed down from Aztec, Maya, early times
Commemorates loved ones who have passed away.

Día de los Muertos on November the first
A day to remember children dead and gone,
November the second honours the ghosts of adults.

Día de los Muertos is filled with music and dancing,
Makeship altars celebrate lives of kin

Water in a pitcher, quenches the spirits' thirst
Candles and marigolds guide the spirits home

Butterflies hold the souls of the departed
Sugar skulls and toys deck children's altars

In Vietnam, Grave Visiting Day (Lễ Tảo Mộ) ,
Happens in lunar March
The Thanh minh festival Day

Death day is deeply venerated
Children express devotion, thank the ancestors

Vietnam folk poems say: "A tree has roots and branches
That are hatched from the root and water
That also run from its source to the rivers and seas".

Here, in this cold country,
On my son's birthday,
At Xmas, on his death day
I visit his grave. I offer flowers,
I water the earth with tears.

If candles could light his way
Back from the world of shades
I'd plant of path of them through fields of glass