This week’s post is the result of a comment on what I shared last week. Julie King is an aunt of mine - and while I knew that my Grandpa (Ralph King) had taught in a one-room school house - I never knew he had an interest in poetry!
A teacher in a one room school in rural Michigan, my father-in-law occasionally recited poems he had taught his students. One of his favorites was printed on a card at his funeral...Crossing the Bar by Alfred Tennyson.
Crossing in a ship not on a bridge, nevertheless Longfellow’s poem brought this one to mind.
One of the stories I did know about him was that during his time in the service he was in an airplane training accident during which every person on board perished except for him. I can’t help but wonder if that experience was connected in any way to his affection for the Tennyson poem.
but it certainly has me wondering! And reflecting on how a life’s experiences layer and form us. It is also a reminder of how little we often know about those closest to us - and the value that grandparents have!!
With America’s 250th this Fourth of July, and the sentiment of appreciating those who came before us, their sacrifices and legacies - as we gather with family and friends this weekend, maybe there’s a chance to go a little deeper than the potlucks, parades and fireworks. Start a conversation or ask a question that goes a little deeper, that reaches a little higher…
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.
-Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892); in the Public Domain.
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