Voices of a distant time
Speak softly thru the years
Carried on winds of ages
past
Whispering gently in our
ears.
Seeking to be remembered
Rather than forgotten
as though never here,
Reaching out to their
children's children...
"Do they listen? Will
they hear?"
From far off lands and distant
seas
With courage and fear interlaced,
They sought a new future
for their children,
But unsure of the future
they faced.
They arrived at port as
families,
As well as lone woman
or man.
Even a child or infant
would travel
To the promise of that
other land.
Hazards of travel, whether
land or sea
Would claim both young and
old.
This new land would hold
a price for some,
But undaunted, forward they'd
go.
Far from what they once
called home
They embraced this new
found land.
Though their hearts recalled
it, they'd still proudly
Proclaim it : "I'm an
American."
Though many to America were
penniless
With nought but their Bible
to hold,
They knew therein lie a
treasure:
Joys and sorrows, recorded
and told.
Each name seems to say:
"Don't forget me;
please remember those
things we endured."
"We risked it all; life,
home, love and family,
so your future would
be secured."
Written by Rebecca Watson Walker
for the Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild
24 January 1999
Please visit the
Immigrant
Ships Transcribers Guild Website
Used with the author's permission.
(Thanks, Ms. Walker!)
May each of you hear the
voices in time.
May your brick walls
come down
and each of your ancestors
be remembered.
Without them, you would
not be.