Race Memory : Hunger

..............Who are You?

I am one who holds the memory of hunger in my bones

I am one who carries my ancestors' hunger in my blood

I am one who cannot bear the thought of not having food for my child

I am one whose ancestors somehow stayed and survived

I am one who has cried the tears of the hungry

I am one who has known the fear of the workhouse

.................What do you have to give me?

I give you the knowledge that you have come from a nation of survivors

I give you appreciation of all the bounty in your life now

I give you a sense of the history you carry in your blood and bones

I give you the capacity for empathy with the poor and dispossessed of the world

.....................How Will I remember?

I will remember when I see a hungry child

I will remember when I am tempted by gluttony

I will remember. I will just remember.

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This card was made at my most recent workshop. I had begun to wonder recently whether there were particular themes that would become evident in SoulCollage work with Irish people. I hadn't realised that this would be one of the themes to become present for me. The first few images presented themselves very spontaneously, and although they are not all Irish in their origin, they have the feel of the whole thing.