Prosery is the challenge today, and we're to write prosery of 144 words or less using a line from "Spring Azures", a poem by Mary Oliver....Sometimes the great bones of my life feel so weary. My prosery is based on a true experience a number of years ago. Submitted January 18, 2021
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I stand in the clearing of a grove of trees, surrounded by ancient headstones and grave markers. The silence is broken only by a faint breeze in the trees and the lowing of cattle nearby. After a long genealogical journey I have found this little pioneer cemetery near the banks of the Ohio. I put my hand on the warm and weathered stone that marks the grave of my fifth great grandmother. Mentally I name the generations from her life to mine…five generations of women, each with a story to tell. Sometimes, the great bones of my life feel so weary, and I’m reminded in their time they each must have felt the same, as the pages of time moved inexorably on. I was overwhelmed with the sense this is my place in time in the unending spiraling chain of DNA that makes us who we are.
Oh, I love this! The generations of women with their stories (and weariness) stretching down to you. And how cool to find that cemetery with their graves.
ReplyDeletethis resonates deeply .. I also come from a strong female line and went to UK to find their gravestones and family homes. It gives a real sense of continuity and connection ... well done!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful story Beverly!
ReplyDeleteGenerations abd stories, keywords to your interesting prosey
ReplyDeleteHappy Monday, thanks for dropping by to read mine
Much💖love
Awesome work, Beverly. I enjoyed it greatly, and My Beloved Sandra (who's seriously into the whole genealogy thing) will LOVE it!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! A cemetery is the place to go to feel the weight of those old bones from the past. So many stories to tell. Well done!
ReplyDeleteToo depressed to read and comment this evening, just saying hello – be back when I am repackaged.
ReplyDeleteImpossible not to be overwhelmed by the weight of history and your place in it, especially in such a place, its solemn significance, the thoughts described so clearly and vividly. Enjoyed this very much, Beverly.
ReplyDeleteBev, this is fascinating!! And beautifully crafted ....
ReplyDelete'the unending spiraling chain of DNA that makes us who we are.' I love this depiction of the chain of ancestors which are mirrored on a microscopic level in our DNA. Very poignant!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful story of discovery, Bev: of the little pioneer cemetery, the grave of your ancestor, and a sense of belonging.
ReplyDeleteSuch an intriguing story! I love it. Great take on the prompt!
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful meditation on our place in the tree of life.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written, Beverly. We are all from some string of DNA - it's lovely to feel a connection to the past.
ReplyDeleteIt would be great to know all those stories with the common thread of DNA
ReplyDeleteI love this story you tell. The setting and the memories and the idea that each generation could very well have felt the weight indicated in Mary Oliver's line.
ReplyDeleteThis is incredibly poignant, Beverly. I agree, there are several memories that come to mind when one is visiting in a graveyard. We are all somehow connected to one another ❤️
ReplyDeleteAnd who are we to say that the spirits of all of those women weren't standing with you that day, Beverly. DEEP and beautiful writing.
ReplyDeleteLove these words: "my place in time in the unending spiraling chain"
ReplyDeleteWhen you start to feel such sense of time you really start to understand that that DNA, and maybe some stories are still inside you.
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ReplyDeleteLovely.
-David
Wow. What a powerful story and experience.
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