"Dear Ancestor" by Walter Butler Palmer (1906).
"Your tombstone stands among the rest
Neglected and alone
The name and date are chiseled out
On polished marble stone
It reaches out to all who care
It is too late to mourn
You did not know that I exist
You died and I was born
Yet each of us are cells of you
In flesh and blood and bone
Our blood contracts and beats a pulse
Entirely not our own
Dear Ancestor, the place you filled
One hundred years ago
Spreads out among the ones you left
Who would have loved you so
I wonder how you lived and loved
I wonder if you knew
That someday I would find this spot
And come to visit you."
Neglected and alone
The name and date are chiseled out
On polished marble stone
It reaches out to all who care
It is too late to mourn
You did not know that I exist
You died and I was born
Yet each of us are cells of you
In flesh and blood and bone
Our blood contracts and beats a pulse
Entirely not our own
Dear Ancestor, the place you filled
One hundred years ago
Spreads out among the ones you left
Who would have loved you so
I wonder how you lived and loved
I wonder if you knew
That someday I would find this spot
And come to visit you."
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| J.H. Callaway, buried Hamburg Cemetery, Hamburg, Ashley Co., Arkansas |
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| Sarah Ann Caroline Callaway-Griffin, buried County Line Cemetery, Nashville, Howard Co., Arkansas |
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| Joseph Pitt Callaway, buried Hillcrest Cemetery, Temple, Bell Co., Texas |
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| Susan Amelia "Ada" Nancy Elizabeth Callaway-Chancey, buried Highland Park Cemetery, Ozark, Franklin Co., Arkansas |
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| Louisa "Lula" Mason Callaway-Riggin, buried Rose Hill Cemetery, Arkadelphia, Clark Co., Arkansas |
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