Sally Fingerett

To these faces on my wall, I long to know you
I long to learn about your life, about your husband, about your wife
And your children, what were they like, were they like me?
To these faces from the past, this glass will keep you
From the elements of time, that separate your years from mine
This family tree, on down the line, rows and rows of photographs

I hear your pigeon English whispers in my ear
I repeat those Yiddish phrases I hold dear
I struggle to remember - now it's my turn to remember
And when I come to visit can you feel me near
I touch the numbers on your arm as you stand there
So full of pride and wonder, how you made it out I wonder
Yet, you struggled to survive, you emigrated and you thrived
Here in America, you spared me from the heartache of your life

Now you're framed in aging brass, your past is haunting
Oh the stories you could tell, the war, the camps, the boat, the hell
Who here is left to tell your tale if not for me?

On holidays by candle light your stories are told
Just like antique linen, history unfolds
And we remember - every family member

Recipe's from memory, generations old
Remind us how you celebrated so very long ago
With tastes that we remember, in those kitchens full of wonder
And the aprons we hid under . . ."Zies a maydeleh mine kind"
And now I take my turn, with these traditions that I've learned
Here in America, you spared me from the sorrows you've endured

To these faces on my wall, I will protect you
I make a vow to hold you dear - I’ll speak your name year after year
Your voice will echo in my ear, you left your lessons here inside my heart

I'm hoping that my children find some space for me
On the wall with all these souls that's where I'd like to be
Remembered, I want to be remembered

In this gallery of life, I'll join these faces
As I look I realize, I have her smile, I have his eyes
And though my nose has been revised - I fit right in
With these faces on my wall

©2004 Sally Fingerett, Green Fingers Music, BMI