Family Beyond Blood

Family Beyond Blood

The family that we are born to
is not our own and though we
remain blood bonded to them in this life
they do not truly know us or
share our lives and our plights.
Like acquaintances we meet that we share
only a small portion of ourselves with,
our family sees only the maskes
we choose to wear for their benefit.

Then there are those who we bond with immediately,
those that in a moment have known us for a millennium.
These are select few know us intimately
for they are the kindred of our spirits
and the soulmates of our hearts.
They are the foundation upon which we stand
and the supports that we build our lives around.

But what of those of us who are unfortunate
enough to have neither on which to lean?
They are the mountain in a sea of sand,
steady and unsinkable.
They are the river rock that is tumbled
and shifted by the currents
and still never shatters.
They are indeed the mountain,
and the rock,
and the water currents, as well,
for theirs is the well spring of strength that leads,
and theirs is the spirit of fortitude
we all seek to emulate.

Who is your family when
you take you your first steps into rebellion?
Who is your mother, your comfort,
when you sacrifice your virginity
on the altar of someone else's lust?
Who is your father when you turn away
from the painted face of a human God?
Who holds you when tears flood from your eyes
because love has shattered your heart
like an empty glass bottle thrown into the trash?

Who is your family?
Where are they now?
Who gives you unconditional love, if not them?
Who is your family when
life's burdens are to great to bear alone?/