Students - I never knew my Great Grandmother Marie Braun Pappier, but her chair lives in my living room now, and our kitty Claude likes to lie down in between the rockers. My mom has always told me how kind and loving Marie was, how she'd read the newspaper in that chair and rub her hands at the ends of the arms. I like thinking about how many hours it must have taken to wear away the paint, and when I rub my hands on those worn brown places, I feel connected to this ancestor of mine, Marie who married Henry, my father's mother's father.
This week you might choose to take a trip back in time in your mind, visiting an ancestor or other person you may know or may have never known. Perhaps you have heard a name or place or small story about someone from the past. Perhaps an ancestor, perhaps someone completely unrelated to you. Maybe there is an object in your home that connects with this person: a chair, a watch, a cup, a book title, a sweater, a painting or photograph. The object may be old or it might just remind you of the person.
Follow your thoughts and wonderings. Jot what rises in your mind. And see where you go. You might go to a poem place or a story place or simply a wondering place. All such places are good.
If you keep a notebook, you may even make a list of people-from-the-past to write about in your own future.
Here is a photo of my Great Grandmother Marie with my father and mother on their wedding night, midnight December 31, 1967 - January 1, 1968.
This week, Jama is hosting the Poetry Friday roundup over at Jama's Alphabet Soup with Each Friday, all are invited to share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship in this open and welcoming poetry community.
We are all connected.
xo,
Amy
Amy, I could almost see your great-grandmother sitting in that chair. Your poem made me want to know her. xo
ReplyDeleteLovely poem, and wonderful heirloom! I feel like I know Marie. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for a poem and a memory I can relate to. I have two highback chairs w/ rattan seats that I saved for the family cottage when it was sold. I adore the worn spots, especially when they line up with my own hands/ arms. I feel like you do. I wonder too, about all the family that sat in them looking out at the same lake I adore. It is a connection across the universe to them.
ReplyDeleteI can picture you (and Marie) rocking. What a wonderful connection!
ReplyDeleteI really love the idea of writing about someone from the past through an object they touched or used. Thank you for sharing this heartfelt poem.
ReplyDeleteAmy, I enjoyed your back story and the way your crafted the poem. Your ideas for student writers are always interesting and do-able. I especially liked that you talked about an antique used by your ancestor. I have several pieces of my maternal mother's family heirloom but I never thought about using one of my family treasures as a prompt. PS: Are you attending NCTE this November because I am looking for someone to share a hotel room with. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kindness, Carol. And sigh...I will not be at NCTE. I hope you have a wonderful time! xo
DeleteAmy, I am sorry that I will not see you at NCTE this year. Have a wonderful Sunday.
DeleteI have similar daydreams these days of my ancestors. If only they knew how much I think of them. I hope I can pass down something special to someone, someday who will think of me with fondness as you do of Marie.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful poem and post, Amy. I have nothing from my ancestors, just a thing or two of my parents from my childhood home. That must be a comforting feeling, connecting to your family's past like that. So rooted.
ReplyDeleteI love that you have your great-grandmother's chair, Amy! And what a lovely poem about both the chair itself and your imaginings about her life. My parents passed on several wonderful things from our family's past. I love having a few of those things, including a plate that belonged to my great-great-great-grandmother and some hand-sewn lace. Treasures and inspiration!
ReplyDeleteAll connected indeed. I can feel those worn rocking chair arms from your beautiful description - and it's wonderful to think how her "kind and lovely" has shown up in you and your family as well. xo
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