Title: Remember

Artist: Lira

Medium: Performance-Voice

Date: October 17 2021

This is an idea I video recorded at 11 pm on October 17, 2021. It's an unfinished song, detailing the grief of losing of my grandmother. This song may go through some changes both melodically and lyrically before it's completed.

My grandmother was the only parental figure in my life who was consistent and trustworthy. She fought to create a safer environment for me in a home that carried a lot of pain. I endured different kinds of abuse in my home and throughout my community as a child, so having my grandmother around was the biggest blessing God could give to me. After she passed in May of 2019, I struggled to understand how to navigate this world and my life without her direction. I've been grieving the loss of her by painting, singing, and writing so I could transition into this season of my life with as much kindness as possible. This particular song, so far, is the clearest way I've been able to communicate how much I miss her without anger and bitterness getting in the way. Art can be a really disarming way to feel, and some of our more complicated feelings can use "a seat at the table" without fixing or shaming them. I hope this song holds space for you to grieve, if you need it.