Never defined,
merely assumed,
the answer to the question
of family legacy.
Is it money?
Name?
Philanthropy?
Power? Fame?
Keep digging, for it resides
well beyond the surface of things.
Might it be anger, abuse,
enslavement, enslaving, addiction,
a thick poison, barely visible
yet acutely sensed?
Might it be secrets held, shames and generations of fear?
Likely, aspects of these remain
and are being carried-
whether or not it was chosen.
The question then emerges from distant,
unvisited places, whispering
as warm mother to sleeping infant,
And what would it be for you
to transform
such a legacy, slowly, steadily,
with loving devotion
so as to soften- just a little-
the burden of a misunderstood life
with a dash more kindness, and fist full
of intent.
Far from easy, and miles east of glamorous,
that work may be your simple, impossible,
and singular gift
with the breath you borrow
here, one day at a time.