WE REMEMBER
(Kimberly Arce)
(Female vocal - Piano only — intimate, close)
The mother cries in silence
The soldier stares at rain
The child asks why the world keeps
Teaching people pain
The rich man counts his blessings
The poor man counts the cost
But every soul I’ve ever met
Has known the ache of what they lost
(Strings enter softly)
Different roads / Different names
Different fires / Same flames
(Heartbeat kick. Vocals open.)
We remember / We belong to one another
Not by color, not by creed, not by blood, nor family
Not by borders, not by name, not by tongue, nor any sum of money
But by every tear we’ve cried / Every dream we’ve carried through
The thing that lives inside of me / It lives inside of you
We remember
(Cello enters low and slow)
The widow keeps a photograph
The father keeps regret
The addict fights a battle
The world would rather forget
The refugee keeps moving
The prisoner counts days
And every heart is searching
For a thousand different ways
To get back home
(Strings swell gently)
Different wounds / Different scars
Different stories / Same stars
(Chorus repeats — vocals deepen)
We remember / We belong to one another
Not by color, not by creed, not by blood, nor family
Not by borders, not by name, not by tongue, nor any sum of money
But by every hope we’ve held / When everything fell through
The thing that lives inside of me / It lives inside of you
We remember
(Strip back. Nearly silence. Space between every line.)
What if nobody’s broken?
What if we’re all becoming?
What if every shattered piece
Is teaching us something?
What if all this separation
Is just a mask we call fear?
And love has been the answer all along
(Full lift. Lead vocal carries.)
We remember / We belong to one another
(Choir enters — collective voice on the declaration only.)
Not by color, not by creed, not by blood, nor family
Not by borders, not by name, not by tongue, nor any sum of money
(Lead vocal returns. Harmonies hold through the close.)
Through the darkness / Through the rising / Through forever
And the day we finally see / What has always been true
The light that’s waking up in me / Will wake up inside you
We remember
(Instruments fade. Voices remain.)
One breath… One sky…
One human story… One life…
(No final chord. Just space.)
© Kimberly Arce. All rights reserved.
CoherenceInBloom
