I'm a 74 yr. old Widow, Mom, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother & a Navy Veteran. I have over 47 yrs. of experience as a Domestic Engineer. My husband & I wish You All "Fair Winds and Following Seas." We hope you take to heart the following two poems, for they say it all, concerning this work your helping with. Thank you to all the volunteers out there. Helping us out here who can't travel any more. Your efforts are most appreciated by this family.
Kathy

Dear Ancestor
Your tombstone stands among the rest
Neglected and alone
The name and date are chiseled out
On polished marble stone
It reaches out to all who care
It is too late to mourn
You did not know that I exist
You died and I was born
Yet each of us are cells of you
In flesh in blood in bone
Our blood contracts and beats a pulse
Entirely not our own

Dear Ancestor the place you filled
One hundred years ago
Spreads out among the ones you left
Who would have loved you so
I wonder if you lived and loved
I wonder if you knew
That someday I would find this spot
And come to visit you

by Walter Butler Palmer
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THE RECORDING OF A CEMETERY

Today we walked where others walked
On a lonely, windswept hill;
Today we talked where others cried
For Loved ones whose lives are stilled.

Today our hearts were touched
By graves of tiny babies;
Snatched from the arms of loving kin,
In the heartbreak of the ages.

Today we saw where the grandparents lay
In the last sleep of their time;
Lying under the trees and clouds
Their beds kissed by the sun and wind.

Today we wondered about an unmarked spot;
Who lies beneath this hollowed ground?
Was it a babe, child, young or old?
No indication could be found.

Today we saw where Mom and Dad lay.
We had been here once before
on a day we all like to forget,
But will remember forever more.

Today we recorded for kith and kin
The graves of ancestors past;
To be treasured for generations hence,
A record we hope will last.

Cherish it, my friend, preserve it, my friend,
For stones sometimes crumble to dust
And generations of folks yet to come
Will be grateful for your trust.
(Arthur Unknown)

I'm a 74 yr. old Widow, Mom, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother & a Navy Veteran. I have over 47 yrs. of experience as a Domestic Engineer. My husband & I wish You All "Fair Winds and Following Seas." We hope you take to heart the following two poems, for they say it all, concerning this work your helping with. Thank you to all the volunteers out there. Helping us out here who can't travel any more. Your efforts are most appreciated by this family.
Kathy

Dear Ancestor
Your tombstone stands among the rest
Neglected and alone
The name and date are chiseled out
On polished marble stone
It reaches out to all who care
It is too late to mourn
You did not know that I exist
You died and I was born
Yet each of us are cells of you
In flesh in blood in bone
Our blood contracts and beats a pulse
Entirely not our own

Dear Ancestor the place you filled
One hundred years ago
Spreads out among the ones you left
Who would have loved you so
I wonder if you lived and loved
I wonder if you knew
That someday I would find this spot
And come to visit you

by Walter Butler Palmer
--------------------------------------------------
THE RECORDING OF A CEMETERY

Today we walked where others walked
On a lonely, windswept hill;
Today we talked where others cried
For Loved ones whose lives are stilled.

Today our hearts were touched
By graves of tiny babies;
Snatched from the arms of loving kin,
In the heartbreak of the ages.

Today we saw where the grandparents lay
In the last sleep of their time;
Lying under the trees and clouds
Their beds kissed by the sun and wind.

Today we wondered about an unmarked spot;
Who lies beneath this hollowed ground?
Was it a babe, child, young or old?
No indication could be found.

Today we saw where Mom and Dad lay.
We had been here once before
on a day we all like to forget,
But will remember forever more.

Today we recorded for kith and kin
The graves of ancestors past;
To be treasured for generations hence,
A record we hope will last.

Cherish it, my friend, preserve it, my friend,
For stones sometimes crumble to dust
And generations of folks yet to come
Will be grateful for your trust.
(Arthur Unknown)