Why I Went So Far to Come so Close
If I knew everything, I would be bored,
But I was curious and not torn,
For God had plans for me,
He wanted me to trace back my history,
I wondered what was this plan for me,
To dance back in history,
To unfold the mystery,
To realize through the eyes I see,
The destiny of a nation in modern times,
They have to get connect as time draws nigh,
The families are torn apart one by one,
And there lost someone's wife or son,
I wanted to know the person and the time,
That fills the gap of my ancestral lines,
The road bumpy, jagged in step,
But one by one my family stepped,
Into the story for all to know,
About the Bracys of long ago,
Of Oyo and his descents,
Who came to America free residents,
And a lady name Easter, centurion,
Lived 110 years as she was enduring,
The many people of New York City,
Can tell you about the McDow witty,
Over 2300 relatives, near and wide,
You can run by you can't hide,
From the Bracy-Demaree-Mungo-McDow,
Families connected and showed you how,
The history of a plentiful nation,
The love, kindness, and patience,
Of the reason I went so far,
Of the reason I got too close,
Dubbed an historian, marked as a griot,
And many names, I have not forgot,
The life we lived is permanent , it is true,
This is a part of you,
I went so far to come so close,
Cause all of you are the most,
Wonderful family and person can have,
A nephew you can excel,
A son with a story to to tell,
A grandson with a winning report,
From the hard time he had before,
Now he has risen to new highs,
From the will of God was the light.
Written by Darryl Eley on June 3, 2002 in the Churchland section of Portsmouth, Virginia.
