Great poem

May 2, 2008

Why I love family genealogy

	We are the chosen My feelings are in each family there is one who seems called to find the ancestors To put flesh on their bones and make them live again To tell the family story and to feel that somehow they know and approve To me doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts but instead Breathing life into all who have gone before.We are the storytellers of the tribe. All tribes have one We have been called as it were by our genes Those who have gone before cry out to us, Tell our story So, we do In finding them, we somehow find ourselves How many graves have I stood before now and cried? I have lost count. How many times have I told the ancestors You have a wonderful family, you would be proud of us? How many times have I walked up to a grave and felt somehow There was love there for me? I cannot say It goes beyond just documenting facts It goes to who am I and why do I do the things I do? It goes to seeing a cemetery about to be lost forever to weeds and indifference And saying I can’t let this happen. The bones here are bones of my bone and flesh of my flesh It goes to doing something about it It goes to pride in what our ancestors were able to accomplish How they contributed to what we are today It goes to respecting their hardships and losses, their never giving in or giving up Their resoluteness to go on and build a life for their family. It goes to deep pride that they fought to make and keep us a Nation It goes to a deep and immense understanding that they were doing it for us That we might be born who we are That we might remember them. So, we do With love and caring and scribing each fact of their existence Because we are them and they are us. So, as a scribe called. I tell the story of my family It is up to that one called in the next generation To answer the call and take their place in the long line of family storytellers And that is what calls those young and old to step up And put flesh on the bones. [Author Unknown]