Caroline
She passed me by in soundless shoe,
her slender form beyond my view.
It seemed, outside of heaven's hold,
the remnants of her story, told
through faded logs in lacy hand,
were calling from a misted land.
Her shadow shifts from Scotland's hills
through narrow lanes, abandoned mills,
where once her calloused fingers plied
the endless thread that dimmed her pride.
And when she heard her baby's squalls,
she turned her eyes toward dingy walls
and closed them in a silent prayer
that God would keep him safe, somewhere.
Three generations have prevailed
beyond the ocean that he sailed,
his mother's prayer, in fine sea spray,
encircling him along the way.
Her ghostly breath turned every page
that brought me to another age
and led me past forgotten bones,
through Scotland's streets and cobblestones.
And, haltingly, the tale was found,
this spool of thread, a life unwound,
that spins her struggle to survive
to where her children's children thrive.
She touched my brow, then smiled and turned
to find the rest I know she's earned.
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Read Ch. One from the book!
Next Book in the Series:
Beside the Merciful Sea
(in progress)
Travel with immigrant Antony Thacher, a radical Puritan believer, and his somewhat less devout young wife, Elizabeth, across the ocean as they emigrate from England to America in 1635. Forge a new life in the New England wilderness with Elizabeth and her growing family, amidst the constant struggles and dangers that faced pioneering families in the 17th century.
Antony, often exasperated by his unconventional wife, is pious but loving, while Elizabeth, true to her flaming red hair, is a "free spirit" who strives to create a life much different from the repressive convention left behind in England.
A story of love and loss, adventure and drama, struggle and survival, Beside the Merciful Sea is Cat's next adventure in genealogy, as she works to uncover the exciting story of these distant ancestors.