RECUR-TIS

Poor innocent Heather. She thinks that she chose
This life that she’s living. I do not suppose
She even imagines what everyone knows—
She’s living her grandmother’s life. Way back when,
Her grandmother did what she’s doing again.
Just look at the tale of two lives, now and then.

Two lives that both started in cold Newfoundland
‘Til Oshawa beckoned and living was grand.
Two brothers named Roy always lending a hand.
Two flowers for names—Heather, Violet too.
Two middle initials both L. Hey, who knew
That Heather from Grandma was taking her cue?

Each one’s a first daughter, born after a war.
With father twice married and cousins galore.
Coincidence? Maybe, but hard to ignore.
Does Heather determine her don’ts and her do’s,
Her ‘Yes, I will do it’, her ‘No, I refuse’.
Or really, was that all for Grandma to choose?

When Heather was wed, twenty-seven years old,
The die had been cast. She was fitting a mold
As soon was apparent, if truth must be told.
Like Grandma, July of the very next year
Saw stork bring a sweet little bundle of cheer
(At age twenty-eight, they both kicked it in gear.)

The man that each married, from every report,
Is smart as they come and a technical sort,
And each to her husband a half a foot short.
I think that by now there’s a pattern you see.
The firmest of cynics can’t help but agree
With no further arguments needed from me.

…

So Heather, last year was a very good start
But surely you see in the depths of your heart
The stork’s moving in and will not soon depart.
Yes, thanks to your grandma, it’s all cut and dry.
Her past is your future—to change it, don’t try.
P.S. Any news yet about next July?

originally posted to MyFamily.com on Jan 9, 2004