Ancestral Voices Poem by Christine A Kysely

My ancestors are not forgotten
Those whose memories and
Whose names are etched
On some plain and
Long lost stones
Scattered across the land
In cemeteries long unknown.

Those who came here from afar
To some wild and unsettled lands
With the promise of a dream
They came through Ellis Island.
They had a dream for me…
And for my children’s children
They dared to cross the sea.

They were strong adventurers
They had strength of character
One of my great-Grandmothers
Dared to come alone.
They dared to move to a country
Other than their own
Sight unseen.

I hear their voices in my mind
From the distance, from afar
From an infinitely different time
Whispering in my ear
This is who you are my dear
Be strong and do not fear
Anything.

Who I am and who I came from
They make it clear.
I am the same.
I am the exactly same.
Exactly the same
From whom it is I came from.
My Ancestral Voices.

(November 26,2010 Wausau, Wisconsin)

(c) Copyright 2010 by Christine A Kysely, All Rights Reserved