Our Lost Stories
Our stories lost between the pages of time
Whispers no longer heard
Dates on gravestones never seen.
Who were these souls
Their names forgotten?
Who is remembering their sacrifices,
Their tears, their joys, that brought us here?
Their legacy is ours
Whispered from one generation to the next
Forever on the wind as the dust stirs
Part of each cell and fiber-
A family found again; our heritage.
©Donna Donabella 2018
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I found this poem that I wrote a few years ago, in an old journal. It may have come about when I was trying to work out some of my family’s ancestry. I thought it would a great poem in honor of my my father’s family on this Father’s Day here in the U.S.
The top picture is of my father’s family in the early 1930s. He is pictured lower right and my Irish grandmother, Margaret, behind him. The other’s are my aunt (grandmother’s sister Esther), uncle (Fred, Esther’s husband) and cousins (Esther and Fred’s children, Myrtle and Fred). The bottom picture is from around 1901 and is my grandmother’s baby picture. We are discovering many old pictures of family we do not know or cannot recognize as the only one left now is my mother who has the accumulated history of her family and my father’s. It is sad to have lost these family stories with each relative who is gone now.
I am joining in with Poets United for their weekly poetry link up for poets who blog.
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I leave you with a few additional words about Lost Stories. I welcome you to download the photo and share it.
All other photos and original content is copyrighted and the sole property of Donna Donabella @ Living From Happiness, 2014-2018. Any reprints or use of other photos or content is by permission only.
This gives a nostalgic feeling. Indeed we are the culmination of all the traits and sacrifices of our ancestors.
I wish I had know more of them or known more about them.
This strikes home.
I have no pictures of either of my parents in their younger years. My father was a German Jew and made an oyster look garrulous. We think he was the last survivor in his family. Sadly my mother wasn’t on speaking terms with the truth very often.
I know lless than nothing about their families and indeed only found out I had cousins years after my mother died.
Buried stories.
Oh Soosie that is sad….my paternal great grandfather is a mystery and I may never know his story. I wish our ancestors had not hidden their stories from us.
Remembering is so important. Few take time to do it. Thanks for this poem that DOES remember those who have gone before.
I strongly agree….we must remember them and give their stories life.
Great question that stirs up mystery and a little sadness not to know them.
Poignant snd thought-provoking.. Perhaps we should make sure to tell our own stories while we can.
Absolutely Rosemary….I think that has become a mission for me!
This is incredibly evocative, Donna. I can sense the legacy being “whispered from one generation to the next” ..and can’t help but wonder about my own.
Thanks Sanaa…I think we all want to connect to our past, our family and know them just a little more.
I see you in your grandma’s baby picture. I love old photos and only wish i had written down the history and stories when my grandma was still here to tell them. Sigh.
Thanks Sherry and I too wish i had so many of my family with me to hear those stories and be able to share them now with my nieces.
What a great day to remember your family… I think about it so much these days and wonder how I could learn more.
Wouldn’t it be great if we had the resources to do that!
I can empathise with your poem. Photos of family whom you know little about. Wars and life events break up families. To be honest I think it is an accomplishment even being alive todayl Life can be such a struggle.
Indeed and I think this is why sharing our stories is so important!
So much nostalgia! makes one realise why taking pictures is important even if it seems corny
Yes the photos tell many stories and are important to help pass on the story of our lives.
Beautiful Donna and so true too.. Your words here have a lingering depth, I think. Enjoyed this very much… Thank you
So glad you enjoyed it Scott!
Ah, so only your mother is left who knows the many family stories. Write them all down now when you can. There are many questions I wish now I had asked my mother (and dad), but it is too late. And, oh, those old family photos of people recognized and people not. Now in the digital age I wonder if we will end up with more memories preserved or fewer. I think we all have so many photos on our computers. I doubt they will be cared for when we are gone. Lots of things to think about.
Yes I think there may be less stories and photos to share even with all our technology.
Very sweet vintage photo Donna. And yes legacy should be explored
Thanks for dropping by my Sunday Standard today
Much♥️love
Thanks so much gillena!
The loss of all those stories makes me so sad.
I feel especially sad as we can’t get them back…. 🙁
Having done a fair bit of research on both mine and my wifes family I have compiled a list of about 1900 members of the joint trees. I am hoping somebody keeps up the work after me! What a lot of secrets you can discover by diligent digging.
Yes it is amazing what we can discover in our ancestry…..and I do hope someone does keep these stories going.
It is a lovely poem for today, indeed. And it answers its own question: you (plus those who read this).
Thank you Magaly and I hope I can continue to keep some stories alive.
We are the sum of our past…and we should find time to remember and honour those who made us who we are. Lovely thought.
Yes we need to set aside time to honor our ancestors and share their stories….
Simply beautiful. I love it, Donna.
Oh I am so pleased…thank you!
A lovely write…I like to think they are with us, in ways we do not understand. Beautiful family.
Thank you Annell….I agree, even if we don’t know them or have not even heard of them, they are still with us.