I Think of You 
  
You’re the grandfather I never knew 
But I often wish I had 
Your wife at home who mourned you 
And eight others who called you Dad 
  
When you left for work that morning 
It was like any other day 
Then you were gone without a warning 
Your life lost earning your pay 
  
The Canal is a monument to many men 
And I’m proud that you played a part 
But the tragedies that happened back then 
Have stricken many a heart 
  
You helped build the mighty Seaway 
With friends, with neighbours too 
Your legacy is still awesome today 
When I see it I think of you

© HD Fraracci, 2015

Background

Ever since I was a boy and found out that my grandfather had died – falling 60 feet from a train trestle – while working on the Welland Canal, I have never looked at the canal or watched a ship sail through it without that thought crossing my mind. 
  
I am a grandson of Rocco Fraracci, one of the 137 men who died between 1914 and 1932 while constructing the canal, which connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. It allows ships to ascend and descend the Niagara Escarpment and bypass Niagara Falls. 
  
In 1928, my grandfather left behind a wife and eight children, my father among them. 
  
When the canal was officially opened in 1932, a commitment was made to build a memorial to the workers who had died on the job. This was never accomplished, but recently, the initiative was revived resulting in a memorial being built and unveiled in November of 2017. 
  
When I heard about the plan for a memorial I was moved to compose this poem in honour of my grandfather.

Life is like a Samurai Blade

Life is the fire that tempers the will
The will to survive keeps us on Earth
The Earth is where we grow

We grow from the elements and thought
Thought with a purpose requiring patience
Patience to return to the fire

The fire purifies our soul - red-hot it glows
It glows then cools, stronger than before
Before the Sun it shines with Truth

© HD Fraracci, 2001

Reproduced with the permission of 
OUR TIMES – Canada’s Independent Labour Magazine