Researching family history
cemetery records
reveal something new to me
singular stone in 
row of infants 
my surname
my initial
date of birth, death – same
a bitterly cold 
Minnesota Friday, 1914

Born, died on the sabbath.

Sensing my father’s
heretofore 
unknown cousin 
I dig deeper
microfisched state archives
locate the records and
stunning revelation:
parents’ names.

My grandparents.

Thus, I have found the grave  
of my father’s 
two-years-older brother 
never spoken of
wondering now 
did my father even know?

Returning to the cemetery
I leave a stone on his
my last name
my first initial
no other information
it seems the thing to do

Customs being 
what they were it appears
the boy was
probably not named
the initial M carved on
his headstone 
most likely stands simply
for ‘MALE’ 

Not known of before
his memory
now my blessing

Custom and tradition
be damned
it strikes me as impersonal
unknown uncle
my surname
my initial
his date of birth, death -  
same day
a mere eight hours of life 
was all a bitterly cold 
1914 Minnesota Friday
could give him
but history 
gave me
more 


-Mark L. Lucker
© 2026