Photo: http://www.nature.com – Genomics: Human genome in 3D
Multidimensional mosaic
Tiny fragments of parental DNA
From hundreds of ancestors –
Thousands
Millions
Gone before –
Each leaving a shred of self
Patched into the next generation
Drops in the family blood mix
Each intrinsically linked to each –
Merged
Yet separate souls,
Individual
Indivisible
Whole
Greater than the ravelled sum of the parts
Knitted together in the womb
In each successive
New baby.
catterel 
Lovely, and the wonder of ancestry is something we both seem to be thinking a lot about at the moment 🙂
Part of becoming ancestors, Peter! Once you have 3 or 4 generations to interact with, it’s hard to ignore.
This is wonderful.
Thank you – it’s a wonderful subject.
I like this poem so much. The thought, “Each leaving a shred of self / Patched into the next generation…” is just perfect. Amazing to think how we are linked to those who lived and those who will follow.”
It boggles my mind, too.
Excellent. You have precisely summed up about how I feel towards life and death. How often have i heard one Aunt say to me that I had the same mannerisms of another Aunt whom I had never met. The fascination of life and genes.
Yes – science may have explanations but it’s still incredibly fascinating.
Just beautiful, Catherine ❤
Thank you, Dani 🙂