Small gathering of family
swapped childhood memories
of Aunt Catherine, Uncle Clemence
as we drank beer in their last home,
the one in town,
without them.

Cousins and one Aunt, the last
alive of thirteen,
helped us, a younger generation
now aging, struggle to list
the birth order of parent,
aunts and uncles.
We laughed, argued,
presented evidence,
until someone called home
for the book, a family history
with photos, dates,
remembrances of 12 families
and Sister Julianne.

Gray-haired, paunchy, slower,
we offered hugs, a toast 
to the correct lineage
we resurrected together.