Family

What makes a family?

Branches sprung from one tree,

Reaching up, growing out from the past?

Each blossom’s unique yet familiar

Features from those we remember

Petals billowing but tethered: one mast

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Or is it conditioning?

Or nurturing?

And behaving and listening,

Absorbing the norms of our space.

is it connections, traditions

And routines, expectations,

Or simply of knowing your place?

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Or is family a mash-up

A nature/nurture hash-up?

A blend of conditioning and genes?

Or is it just a house, a nest,

The folk with you rest,

Who ask where you’re going,

Where you’ve been?

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Family’s connection

Not defined by reflection

It’s belonging and being accepted

Family is anywhere you’re missed when not there

In each other being unquestionably invested

Alison McIntosh January 2020