Saturday, January 13, 2018

LYDIA

This cabinet card photo was in my great grandmother’s
photo album, but it was unidentified.  Sadly, her identity is
lost in the pages of time.  I spent some time imagining
what her life might have been, and penned my musings
in this rhyme.   I've named her Lydia.  It seemed to fit.
Submitted to Poets United,  Poetry Pantry#386
January 14, 2018
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Born in a cabin on bounty land
The youngest of many, her mother’s right hand
Still, she learned to read and write
Sometimes reading far into the night.
At a tender age, she took up her pen
To chronicle her life as it was then.
Marriage, then children, and still she wrote
Each new event with a careful note
The Civil War ended, the family moved on
When things were unpacked, her journal was gone.
Who knows what happened to Lydia’s book
Wouldn’t I love to have had a look
Now she has a page in this journal of mine
And, though we don’t know her, I've taken the time
To think of her life as it was then
And what might have been written by Lydia’s pen.
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21 comments:

  1. Beautifully brought to life..a real treasure

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  2. Beautifully done, Beverly. She has a sad look. Life was hard back then. I so love old photos - the stories they could tell, if only we knew.

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  3. I love it... and it brings back memories of all those images of all those people that I do not know which I find in old photos ... sometimes not relatives but friends or neighbors.

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  4. It is up to us to fill in the blanks of our lives. A photo of a young woman unknown. Did she live to old age, or did she die young. What was her place in your Grandmother's life. So many questions, left unanswered. It happens often, I think of a question, and I think I will ask Mom...but of course she is gone now...so many questions I wish I had asked.

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  5. This is beautifully written Beverly. I love where you took this--and I love the feel of it

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  6. I love that you gave her a voice. And Lydia is just perfect.

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  7. This is a wonderful tribute to this woman. You gave her a story in the here and now.

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  8. I feel the same way when I look through my Mother's old photo albums. You have given her a name and a place. An act of kindness between two souls. Thank you,

    Elizabeth

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  9. I love how you looked at this photo and invented a life story. If only she would know that she has gained some immortality through the words of your poem!

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  10. What a lovely gesture ... there is a certain generosity of spirit to it. Of course the story you have penned and the manner you have rendered it, is beautifully done and very appropriate to the time in history that you wrote to. A fascinating exercise and a very enjoyable read, Beverly.

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  11. you filled in the blanks of this woman's life very beautifully, and in so, created a lovely character. a fascinating read. :)

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  12. A poet bookmark in the story of her life.

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  13. What a beautiful tribute to your unknown Lydia, Bev. I can just imagine her mother or father saying "No! Don't write you name on the photo you will only spoil it."

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  14. A Lydia. She seem definetly a fit for your pen. Thanks for sharing your mystery person and entertaining us with your musings Bev

    Much💝love

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  15. It was certainly a tough life then. Not the good ol' days by any stretch of the imagination.

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  16. This is such a beautiful tribute, Beverly!💖

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  17. What a treasure that picture is! And what a sweet way to connect to one of your ancestors.

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  18. Sweetly imagined! She does look like a reader and probable journaller.

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  19. What a lovely way to give 'Lydia' an identity. I am sure her life can't have been easy, but perhaps it more fulfilling than the relatively easy life we have now.
    Anna :o]

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  20. Cool. I'm curious about her now.

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