Family Ties
© By Grady L. Duncan
10/27/03
With fondness I still remember.
It seems like it was yesterday,
when families were close and loving.
I wish I could say that of today.
Go back with me once more,
To those wonderful treasured years,
filled with sounds of laughter,
shared with a few mournful tears.
Remember the crackling fireplace,
where the family all gather around,
to hear the tales from old folks,
as kids listened, without a sound.
Grandpa would smoke his pipe,
while grandma rocked in her chair.
On the floor, kids lie on their stomachs,
with their feet sticking up in the air.
"Family" was often the topic,
its history and the characters within;
our forefathers and their descendants,
in-laws, neighbors and friends.
They told of all of the hardships,
as they settled throughout the land,
the labors and toils they suffered,
with not much more than their hands.
Kinfolks were close and loving.
Each child never felt alone.
Aunt and Uncles corrected,
each little one like their own.
The aged of the family,
were held in high esteem;
never treated with disrespect;
not in your wildest dream.
Those voices from the past,
and the stories I still recall,
and the good times we enjoyed,
in the days when I was small.
Do your children a favor.
Help them all to realized,
the importance and true joy,
of the memories of family ties.
