Roots
these roots I come from,
no one ever told
them they could win,
of overseas holidays, 401ks,
or lavish dreams,
like what could be made
to fill a room of hungry mouths.
these roots I come from.
Willing to do whatever it took
to take good care of their own,
especially when it
wasn’t easy, or comfortable.
these roots I come from,
ran moonshine when
there was more
month than money.
on skid row amongst
the street justice, hustlers,
and prostitutes than owe
a bank on thin dime
more than they made.
these roots I come from,
they lived their lives,
from birth to death,
without ever knowing
what it was to fly,
only what it
was like to live.
About This Poem
My barber has a certain sign hanging in his shop. My eyes gravitate towards it every time I’m in his chair.
It reads, “I’m my ancestors’ wildest dream.”
As my journey continues to grow I can definitely relate to that statement. This doesn’t come from a place of ego or self-aggrandizement. I’ll expound on more about what it means to me later.
I’ve shared quite a bit with you about my background in the five years I’ve been writing here on the blockchain. Those who’ve read me regularly probably already guessed that the poem Roots is about my ancestors. They were all tough, resourceful, simple people and each of them had to struggle just to survive. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what they would think about my life now.
My great uncle Curtis “Midge” Walton. I’ve written about him a lot here in the past. He was probably ten years old in this picture. Midge never had any of his own children but ended up helping to raise my father after my dad’s biological father passed away when he was three years old. I knew Midge as my paternal grandfather growing up. He had an entrepreneurial spirit, ran moonshine and became a landlord, in addition to his job as a roofer.
My paternal Grandmother, Lillian Ruth (Aurand) Walton. Lillian worked various waitressing jobs in restaurants around Lancaster and Columbus, Ohio. She took in other people’s laundry for extra money and my Dad always said she had an excellent singing voice. He said she used to write her own songs and perform them in bars and taverns around Ohio to help pay the bills.
My maternal great-grandparents, Taras and Mary (Bayura) Fmura. Taras came to the United States on a steam ship all alone from what is now Ukraine during the Russian revolution and never left America. Both were multilingual, ended up having ten children, and Taras made a meager living working in the coal mines of Western Pennsylvania. Taras was a reserved and gentle man, lived a very simple life, tended a garden, and made his own wine which he sold for extra income.
Maternal grandparents, Mary (Fmura) and Herschel Hill. That's my Mom, Rosemary in my grandmother's arms. Herschel was known as somewhat of a “horse-whisperer” and served for the U.S. in World War Two, helping to train horses for Chiang Kai-shek’s army in China. Mary raised my mother and aunt at home and from all accounts inherited her father Taras’ gentle and quiet disposition.
Paternal grandfather, Verlo Vance Walton. This is the only surviving picture I have of my grandfather. He passed away in the early 1940’s in jail and the cause of his death is somewhat of a mystery. Being the oldest sibling, Verlo was the patriarch of the Walton family. According to family history my grandfather had a fiery temper, quick wit, and was a scrapper.
Reminiscing
As I approach my fiftieth birthday in a month and two days I’ve been reminiscing about my life, how lucky I’ve been, and all that I have to be thankful for.
A lot has transpired since I wrote this blog post four years ago, “...A Gateway To A New World.”. Many more dreams have come true and each of them can, either directly or indirectly, be traced back to the blockchain.
Lately, that statement, ”I Am My Ancestors’ Wildest Dream.” keeps ringing through my head. I have each of these people mentioned above (and many more I didn’t mention) to thank for my success as well as for being my anchors.
As long as I remember these people and their stories they will keep me grounded well into the future as my journey continues. After publication of my next two books, Ephemera (June 2021) and Asylum (2022), I plan to begin the next phase of my life which I haven’t completely figured out yet.
I do know a few things, I will be building a legacy and giving back to try to make our world a better place. As the details of this plan comes into better focus you all will be the first to learn about it here on Hive.
Life passes quickly, isn’t always perfect, and is rarely easy but it can be so incredibly rewarding. Make the most of it.
Define your dream then chase it with everything you have.
We all have a role to play in making the world a better place.
Use every tool at your disposal necessary to become your ancestors' wildest dream.
All for now.
With Gratitude,
Eric Vance Walton
(Gifs sourced from Giphy.com, photos/ideas are original.)
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