Family

Awkward are the meetings
we’ve all been through.
Who are you? What do you do?
Sorry there are no memories
though they say we are “family”.
You make up lots of small talk
and try to be friendly, but
if you live here, and I live there,
what can we hope to talk about and share?

How can we bridge the years and the miles,
not to even mention our differing lifestyles?
Mere cordial pretense, absent all the trials,
does not make us “family”….
more like complete strangers
living a world apart;
not knowing one another
or even where to start,
“Relatives”…. for certain ….
but not “family of the heart.”