Preserving the Past
(author unknown)

Who is this little girl?
What happened on this day?
Did she grow up to be a mom?
No one can truly say.

How proud and glad I'm sure she'd be
To see herself this way.
But through neglect and lack of care,
Her joy is lost today.

Stored in a box and put away,
Forgotten there so long ago --
Along with letters, flowers and cards,
And other faces we don't know.

Such a pretty little picture,
And its condition is quite good --
But no one ever kept it in
The place they really should.

So when I found her photo there,
It made me sad to see,
For all her youthful days on earth
Were lost in history.

Davids, Davids everywhere, but none the correct link.
In this confusing research it really makes you think;
What our ancestors were thinking when they named their children fair?
Did they know in later years we would be pulling out our hair?

"Ah ah!" you say, narrowing down names of many a dozen.
"Oh, good grief!" your reply discovering he has wed his first cousin.
So how does yet another David fit into this family group?
Figure it out later -- your brain has turned into pea-soup.

Enumerators, as we all know, were quite a sneaky bunch.
They were crafty in their writing and you really have no hunch,
If the name that you are staring at truly belongs in your line.
Oh, my gosh, this boy's a girl! Well isn't this just fine?

You sit and stare and laugh at the errors you've just found.
You wonder what your ancestor, long buried in the ground.
Would think of this mistake, when you know that in his life,
He took three different women to be his wedded wife.

Our research would be easier had they stayed in just one place,
But as most of us discover, that is simply not the case.
From Connecticut to New York, and from there on to Ohio,
"Why couldn't they stay put and simply write their own bio?"

Today, Dear Lord, I'm 80, and there's much I haven't done.
I hope, Dear Lord, you'll let me live until I'm 81.
But then if I haven't finished all I want to do,
Would you please let me stay awhile until I'm 82?
So many places I want to go, so very much to see.
Do You think You could manage to make it 83?
The world is changing very fast, there is so much in store,
I'd like it very much to live until I'm 84,
And if by then I'm still alive, I'd like to stay until 85!
More planes will be up in the air, so I'd really like to stick
And see what happens to the world when I turn 86.
I know, Dear Lord, it's much to ask
(and it must be nice in heaven)
But, I'd really like to stay until I'm 87.
I know by then I won't be fast, and sometimes will be late,
But it would be so pleasant to be around at 88.
I will have seen so many things, and had a wonderful time.
So, I'm sure that I will be willing to leave at the age of 89 -- maybe.
Just one more thing I'd like to say, Dear Lord, I thank you kindly.
But if it's ok with You, I'd love to live past 90.

Courtesy of Bette Jean Clute 

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