Five Lives and a Shadow

In my homeland Every man was born With five lives and a shadow In my homeland Every man walked With five lives and a shadow In my homeland When a man died Five lives and a shadow died with him In my homeland A father prompted in a newborn's ears Names of ancestors and the clan And concluded the ritual Whispering names of Five lives and a shadow And the child grew to live and know His five lives and the shadow In my homeland When a baby completed six days on earth We worshiped our fairy angel of prosperity In my homeland When a toddler stopped playing in the day And stayed awake crying all night long A grandma sewed a pouch Put rice-grains fish and vegetables in it Bent a bamboo down Tied the offering to its tip and Released it with a prayer To our fairy godmother For peace unto the infant Who was confused by light and darkness In my homeland When a child's tooth fell off A mother placed it in a cotton ball With a piece of coal and Threw it up on the roof Asking fairy godmother for a stronger one In return Today In my homeland A man dies everyday Without a life Even before a shadow comes along To join him And names of fairies Have been swapped For Five lives and a shadow No longer dwell In my homeland