Centuries Later

Survivorship, Rewarded

Far away from home, visiting
foreign genealogical archives,
consulting almost ancient
historical texts and experts,
she comes across dates and
names she already knows:
places of habitation, deeds
for property earned by heroes,
birth records, summonses,
marriage certificates, tax liens,
orders of incarceration,
baptismal confirmations,
divorce decrees, suicide
announcements, endless 
and almost illegible records 
of gifts to the church, loans
from the banks, grants and
purchases of property that
she can still drive through,
even today, satisfied, after
deciphering countless censuses,
lists of unfortunate plague victims,
of miscarriages, of war wounds, 
and of hostility from the natives;
satisfied and glad to be alive
after death list after death list
after death list.

research concluded
her survivorship enhanced
—glad to be alive—

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Fandango’s One Word Challenge
~ List ~
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Go Dog Go Café
Haibun Wednesday 06.08.22
~ Death ~
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