The Keeper

Dear Ancestor ...
Your tombstone stands among the rest;
Neglected and alone.
The name and the date are chiseled out
On polished, marble stone.
It reaches out to all who cares
It is too late to mourn.
You did not know that I exist
You died and I was born.
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.

Author: Unknown

The Keeper

Dear Ancestor ...
Your tombstone stands among the rest;
Neglected and alone.
The name and the date are chiseled out
On polished, marble stone.
It reaches out to all who cares
It is too late to mourn.
You did not know that I exist
You died and I was born.
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.

Author: Unknown