Family Names
after Catherine W. Carter
The only sense we make is where we come from:
the Hess branch a German vintage,
McCammons tribalizing Ireland’s greens;
how the Saylors arrived is no mystery, either.
Farmers they all became, eventually,
farmers who left their fields
until one daughter remained true to her trade,
if not her ancestral tag.
At the end of your life, have you chosen
what they carve in your stone? Brief title
that outlives the rest, no matter
where you started or as what.
Does the final plot make you a gardner at last?
5 thoughts on "Family Names"
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
I absolutely love this piece
This is such an inspiration — what an incredible topic, too.
Every line is
/chef’s kiss
And YES!!! Let us love our names, our identities.
xoxo
The questions at the end really give me pause…
“Have you chosen what they carve in your stone?” This is a significant question. Thanks.
You slayed it at lines 4-5 but then when I got to the end it was a homerun. such longevity in such a concise package. well done.