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Tom Brown (My grandmother's father)

My great grandmother remarried after he passed away.

I never knew him. I do not know stories about him.

If only I did.

The Journey

You are a part of me
Yet I do not know you
Faded with time,
Your portraits cry out to me
Haunting eyes stare back,
Searching my memory
Rewinding time
But when it stops at my beginning
There is no piece of your life there

A card, a letter, a ring
A poem, a journal, a watch and chain
Stories that struggle to unfold
Buds that remain shut
Blossoms nodding
With tears shed
We unpack and repack
Dividing up what once was yours.
The remnants circle farther
Rippling strong at first
But memories begin to fade
From what was truth,
from who you were
Then vanish into now

Sorrow churns inside of me
And calms as once again
I hold your treasures in my hand
As though I held your lives
But your stories still are silent
The ones I ache to know.
Not mine to toss
Stillness of reflected lives
Hold fast to what is past
With hope as if by magic
Those pieces give you life
And if that’s true
Add mine too
Someone else can ache to know.

I suppose we had a lot in common.