Francis Cooper-Mckenzie | + Follow Poet |
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Beginning

BEGINNING

Genealogy child
Is much, much more you see
Than names to fill blanks on line, 
Genealogy is your heritage
Of forbears who came from many tracks,
Most to claim an identity of kind
As they made their way along a line,
Right back to the dawn of time,
And in every way and day and in between since,
Many have risen up and achieved,
And many more have felt the chain and the yoke
And become downtrodden with hopelessness of task,
Many overcome difficulties of times
And persecution of their faith filled ideals,
While others stole to survive
And chain and ball became part of their personality,
Many more conquered a watery death,
In the hope of finding the path to a new home:
On the other side to an unknown.
And for many forebears war and conflict never ending
Became their release from an ideology being taught,
And for many a final home in unmarked burial place and graves of dirt
With not a mark of respect to indicate a name of here before,
And for many of the fairer set spending their final days
In the hope of giving delivery to inherit a father’s name
As another child doesn’t survive along with mum,
Disease, pandemics, plagues, wars, epidemics,  
All have their names inscribed on the annals of historical scrolls
And parchments where the scribes have described their worth on mortality.

Down the lines of ages spent, 
from Adam and Eve in the garden, 
and Moses on the mount, 
and mighty Jesus of the cross,
Christopher Columbus and flattened earth,
Shakespeare with parchment, pen, and verse,
Captain Cooke and discovery of worth,
And convicts coming ashore in chains,
To sands of Gallipoli’s blood,
Our heritage lines could come from kings,
Or from peasants on gallows
Or Ned Kelly on the run,
Or the gold diggers on the digs,
But no matter where you have arisen from,
Your genealogy first and foremost starts with you,
And then goes backwards in a line
And your line could be great,
Or it could be small,
But matter not, 
But remember well,
That you are part of a family tree.
And genealogy child,
Is much, much more you see
Than names to fill blanks on line.

Francis Cooper – Mac © 29-Jun-20

Copyright © Francis Cooper-Mckenzie | Year Posted 2020

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