The Final Link Poem by ivor or ivor.e hogg

A graveyard set beside the sea,
with headstones placed haphazardly
That is, not set in tidy rows
which made me wonder: I suppose

used to city cemeteries
with flagstone paths and shrubberies.
Well tended lawns and flower beds.
To see a wilderness instead

came as a culture shock to me.
Not what I expected to see.
This is the grim reality
of a neglected cemetery.

I’m searching for my ancestor,
They’re difficult to find because
the salt winds blowing from the sea
affects the legibility

of names and dates carved in the stone
Some few are left but most are gone.
I find what I am looking for
inside the porch set in the floor.

Though weather worn I can still read
the final details which I need.
Confirming the validity
of my illustrious ancestry.

My great grandfather twice removed
was once a power in the land.
A given fact which can be proved
quite easily I understand.

Now I have traced my family tree
I can call a halt to my quest.
I find it’s satisfactory.
I’m sure that I have earned my rest.

Although it may not matter to
anyone but my family.
I have proved the legends true
we were once aristocracy.
02-Sep-07