-^-for posterity-^-

incense sticks. they’re all over in these parts. they’re red at the bottom and yellow at the top. the handle is thin and flexible.

they are used in prayer. they are used to communicate with dead people. the smoke that is created from burning the yellow incense billows out. it looks like a rubber stream. it dissipates into the air. the smoke is what carries the prayers. the smoke carries the words to god. sounds hokey but i guess just thinking prayers in your head would sound a bit hokey too.

people use them to venerate their ancestors. every year there is a death anniversary. the family gathers and remembers the deceased. it is a happy time when they remember those that came before them. those that ate and smiled and cried and cared for them. they look at the lives that came before them and try to learn from the mistakes.

most houses have an ancestral veneration shelf. it’s called a ban tho. there are normally two portraits on it: one of a man and one of a woman. the portraits are faded. the people in them are normally expressionless. there is usually a small holder for the incense. it is full of previously burnt sticks. people normally pray once a day.

the remains of incense sticks can be seen all over. people who drive trucks or vans usually burn them and put them where the license plate meets the bumper. it brings them safety on the road. people also put them in the cracks on a sidewalk. there is one large tree outside of a restaurant we usually go to that has a knot in its side. it is full of old incense sticks.

i like the idea of watching your prayers travel up to the sky.