The Grand Drama

…Where is Old Fiddler Jones / Who played with life all his ninety years, / Braving the sleet with bared breast, / Drinking, rioting, thinking neither of wife nor kin, / Nor gold, nor love, nor heaven? / Lo! He babbles of the fish-frys of long ago, / Of the horse races of long ago at Clary’s Grove, / Of what Abe Lincoln said / One time at Springfield.
—Edgar Lee Masters, “The Hill,” Spoon River Anthology, 2

Our son was born a dozen years ago this week. I recall that early morning in the recovery room, skin to skin, exploring the wonder of new life. Since then, there have been funerals, family members who have died, and births as well, with cousins born on one side of the family and on the other having children of their own.

The sweep of life has been on my mind today, the grand drama spread across the years.

Early in our marriage we visited the Lewiston, Illinois, cemetery where Edgar Lee Masters was inspired to write Spoon River Anthology, a collection of poems in the form of epitaphs that tell the stories of the community. We picnicked on a sunny hillside, then walked among the markers, reading Masters’ poems when we recognized a name. The graves are marked with numbers for those on self-guided tours.

The honesty of the verse is stark, as it cannot harm the dead to tell the truth about themselves. Painful loss, betrayal, vanity and secrets are revealed. Honor, too, and goodness of the heart. Admonitions, pleas, and even gentle reflections grace the page. I wonder how honest my own epitaph will be the day my “dust to dust” returns to earth.

My prayer is for our son: that one day he will see the panorama of his parents’ lives and find there a story he is pleased and proud to share. At least a verse, a couplet, perhaps a sonnet with its trademark twist near the end; I cannot hope for an ode.

My prayer for us all is that we become worthy ancestors to the generations who follow us. How will your life honor the future? How will those who knew you remember and be changed?

Along the Way, I wish you God’s peace on today’s stage of your Lenten spiritual journey. May Christ’s companionship bless you with confidence for the day, comfort you in trouble, and put a spring of joy in your step.