Poem 35: Generations

I was watching my wife and her sister going through family photographs the other day

They would glance at each picture and then would have their memories to say

If there was someone in the photo they didn’t recognize in their stack

The name of the person was conveniently written on the back

Not only was their name there but quite often there was a date

The inquiry was soon resolved and there was no real debate

It then occurred to me what will our grandchildren have when they’re old and gray?

How will they remember us when we pass away?

They won’t have photos of us when we were alive

Unless they were able to store it on a hard drive

Hopefully the folder they store it to will have some data there to share

The chances of that happening may be very rare

You see right now we have pictures that you can actually touch and feel

To me this makes all our ancestors more important and real

Kids take photos wherever they choose to go

Using their own cell phones they all have in tow

The pictures that they take are sent to friends back and forth

Without a second thought of how much they could be worth

They often post them online for everyone else to see

It doesn’t cost them one thin dime, they never heard of a processing fee

When they’ve spent all their memory and have no room to store

They’ll just choose to delete most of these pictures and then they’ll take some more

They go through so many pictures every day of the year

Some they choose to keep but most just disappear

I know there are plenty of photos of our past generations that we share

The generation that’s coming next seems to be so unaware

In the future all you’ll have are the photos of us to see

This is the way history has unfolded and that’s how it was to be

Now this generation is a whole new dimension and who knows what’s in store

This is all that we have to leave for you, there really isn’t anymore

The life you live is so advanced and who knows what’s to unfold

I’m sure when your days are done, your story will be told

If you have a facebook account, most of your life will be there to view

Over the years when technology advances who knows what you’ll do

The future has no limits and the possibilities are so vast

Please take time to remember your relatives from the past