There is a small country cemetery
close to my heart.
It holds the remains of my ancestors.
A grave stone is out of place,
shoved between the outstretched arms of an old tree
and guarded by poison ivy.
The cemetery is hidden up on the hillside among the trees.
Many times, as a child, my feet climbed up the
crooked and steep pathway that led to the grave sites.
A few days later, I would be reminded of my
trip to the top of the hill
when the red shiny bumps of poison ivy appeared
on my legs.
I wonder who lies here beneath this small unmarked grave stone up against a large tree?
Could it have been Gr-grandma Emily's son, Alexander, who died before the census of 1900.
The census stated that Emily had 4 children, but only 3 were living.
Grandma used to cut flowers from her yard and
bunch them together in bouquets.
She placed them on Grandpa's grave
and the graves of two of her children.
As the years passed by, Grandma was no longer
able to climb up on the hill. I continued to go with
Mom and Dad.
I now put flowers on Grandma's grave.
I visit and remember.
I remember my great grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins
who rest there in the serenity of the shaded hillside.
I remember a time gone by.
Posted by Janet F. Smart at Writing in the Blackberry Patch.
©Janet F. Smart
Oh what a sweet and tender post..There are a few around here like that..It's so good that you keep up the tradition..There's a lot of the old ways falling by the wayside..Like you I try to keep it up as much as possible..
ReplyDeleteExcellent post. Bless you!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post Janet. Do you ever wonder why most of those old cemeteries are always on top of a hill. I love going to old cemeteries but I can't seem to manage the uphill climbs any more.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this post. I do genealogy and spend a lot of time in cemeteries doing research for myself and others. I really going to the older cemeteries and wonder who some of the people were and what them did in their life. Then there is some of the interesting grave stones.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post! I wonder about those buried too. How sad for your gr-grandma, that she buried a son. Love how you wrote this!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely setting for remembering.
ReplyDeleteSuch a peaceful place, and nice that you continue the tradition of decorating the graves.
ReplyDeleteThe old cemeteries are always a peaceful place to visit. It has been years since I've been to the old family cemetery where my great grand parents are and my grandpa. That one too is up a steep hill. I think most old cemeteries in WV are up on top of steep hills! There's one on the border of our property that is on top of a very steep hill that makes you wonder what were they thinking back then! Some of those graves were put up there during horse and buggy days. Now you have to put it in 4-wheel drive to get up there.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful post! I love the older cemeteries with greats and gg's and ggg's buried there, with hard to read old stones and picturesque old trees. Your visit brought back memories for me. Lovely, lovely post!
ReplyDeleteJanet, your post took me back to childhood when I used to visit my dad's peoples' family plot, down in a "holler" at the edge of a farmer's field. Happy day to you.
ReplyDeleteJanet-I'm glad you visit and remember. And I'm even gladder you share it with me : )
ReplyDeleteLove this post, Janet. I think it's such a privilege to visit cemeteries and read the old tombstones.
ReplyDelete