I held in my hand…

A book of poetry today. It was written by my great-great Uncle, prior to his arrival here in the states. It is archived in the National Archives, yet it is 100% in German. I also found out that the majority of my recent ancestors (read, last 300 years- yes, that’s recent for my family) were Doctors, Lawyers, Dancers, Concert Pianists, and all those same ancestors were also poets. I’ve often wondered what side of my family my talents come from, and I’m finding that I am a definite sum of my parts. The warrior comes from my mum’s side. The artist/philosopher/teacher comes from my father’s side. I said that this coming decade was going to be a celebration of who I am, and this little piece of my history I have just learned has given me the last piece of what makes me.

I can’t even begin to describe how it felt to be contacting my ancestor across the veil through his own words. And finding out, that he too, is linked to me. He passed through the veil on November 1, 1905. 21 years after this book was admitted to the National Archives for publication.

I was going to give you all a sample, however, I’m still trying to figure out the old type-script.