My friend Fran often facilitates a workshop promoting the concept of memoir creation.
This poem was written for her, during one of those workshops.....to help foster the motivation needed to encourage people to preserve their life memories and pass them to younger generations.
Alive
By The Q.O.E.
Who Am I? Where do I come from?
Where do I go from here?
How do I honor the stories
Of the ones I hold most dear?
I remember the flickering lamp light
From oil lamps lit of old;
Of monstrous kitchen fires
In my Grandma’s Renfrew stove.
In the light of those flaming lanterns,
In the warmth of that fire bright,
My MacAulay Aunts and Uncles
Told tales to regale the night.
Told stories of lingering memories –
Great-Grandpa Pat, for instance –
Who came from Ennis Killen:
Back then… an amazing distance.
Who settled the farm they lived upon,
Who tilled the soil I trod,
Who raised a wonderful family
And worshipped his chosen God.
And, the organ in the parlor,
With pedals to pump – one, two –
Evoked the soul of a Grandmother,
The one I never knew.
There were cards and stories and fiddles,
Lots of teasing and fun mayhem:
And the tales I tell my children
Are often the tales of them.
The tales that we share with others
Our memories strong revive.
And the wonderful tales I have to share,
Help keep the ones I love alive.