Once Upon a Time

CARRY ON TUESDAY

http://carryontuesdayprompt.blogspot.com.au/

asks us to consider this time-honoured phrase

ONCE UPON A TIME

'Once upon a time'

Who said that first?

Those magic words that light the way to fairyland?

Was it some wrinkled grandmother,

Sitting in the firelight,

Surrounded by avid listeners,

And weaving stories?

The phrase must be very ancient

For the language is archaic.

What would we say now?

'Some time ago......'?

How banal!

Whoever she was,

She was a Marketing Manager's Dream-Girl!

Her phrase 'caught-on'

And it has never been bettered.

She was an unsung and forgotten genius.

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THE HIDDEN TREE

The Family Name! How grandiose!

How proud and dominating!

This tree shows all the offspring

From the convoluted mating!

The Name! The Name! It's passed on down

To future generations,

And all who share the self-same name

Share self-congratulations.

The surnames of the mighty Sirs,

Or should we call them Sires ,

Emblazoned on the Family Trees,

Are what the world admires.

But what of the other, the hidden tree,

That weaves through all the spaces?

Forgotten Family names and titles,

Overlooked female faces?

Their names appear but once, that's all,

In a single generation,

And then their female offspring,

Take another appellation.

But mitochondria has proved

That their invisible tree

Is many times more powerful

Than what the world can see.

The genetic line through females

Is the one that really matters;

It remains constant down the years;

The sperm count merely scatters.

Muscular strength and dominance

Meant female inferiority;

Now science makes it clear we have

Genetic superiority.

So when you view this Family Tree,

Don't be over-awed

By all the Family Names you see;

The system's simply flawed.

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