MY KINFOLKS OF KY AND BEYOND
POEMS, JOKES & TIDBITS
PAGE 8
WHERE FOREFATHERS TROD
Leonard E. Smith
As I travel the paths where my forefathers trod,
It brings me closer to them and our loving God.
My research has told me where many trails did pass,
To reach pioneer destinations for homes and green grass.
In horse drawn wagons, canoes, and boats made of wood,
Over rough roads and rivers in search of land for good.
Traveling by day, camping by night, fearful and brave,
The struggle was hard, sometimes harsh, leaving only a grave.
As I travel today, it's over paved roads and bridges,
Crossing over rivers they floated below, the roads around ridges.
I travel in comfort in a car with air-conditioning and heat,
To them from morn to night, making twenty miles was a feat.
Today we have restrooms and restaurants along the way.
No need to stop and build camp fires three times a day.
No horse to feed, no harness to mend or broken axles to fix.
Just fuel up the gas-buggy, sleep tight, and on the road by six.
My forefathers left a legacy to me in this land of the free.
They fought in wars for freedom and peace for us just to be.
Religion and right by the Bible they said, "It's what we want"!
They crossed great oceans, rivers and mountains for a simple land grant.
If you know where they've been, you might just find them there,
Just cross the rivers Cumberland, Wabash, Ohio or anywhere.
Walk on battlefields of Gettysburg or Lookout Mountain.
Their spirits are there next to bubbling creeks or flowing fountain.
At Kaskaskia or Mammoth Cave, I know they've been there too,
I've traced them from Europe, Britain, and under the sky blue,
From New England and New York, Maryland and Virginia Colony,
Georgia, the Carolinas, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Kentucky.
To grandfathers and grandmothers from all generations before,
I know only a few of your names and who you were from folklore.
When I walk where you trod, I can feel you were there for me,
And I thank God and you all for allowing me to be!
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