PAD Challenge - Day 20 - Became Family

I had a plethora of reactions when I read today's WD 2014 April PAD Challenge prompt to write a family poem. I've probably written enough family poems to fill a book.

My mind first went to one of favorite poems, Maya Angelou's Human Family where she tells us "We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike." - the perfect family poem, in my opinion. Then my mind went to Sister Sledge singing "We are family/I got all my sisters and me."  in their song We Are Family, and, finally, Lisa Marie Presley singing "They are my chosen family." in her song Important. As I thought about why these were my first thoughts, I began to hone in on what I wanted to say about family today.

Family means many different things to people. I've expanded my definition of family over my lifetime, and I'm glad I have because sometimes family chooses us rather than us being born into it...

Here's my family poem...


Became Family

I took your hands in mine
I looked into your eyes
I smiled into your lips
I spoke into your words
You squeezed my hands, unflinching
You looked into my eyes, unblinking
You smiled into my lips, unwavering
You spoke into my words, un-interrupting
We spiraled around life’s axis
We gravitated toward the center of the Earth
We levitated above the clouds
We radiated happiness brighter than sunshine
Cells and nerve endings found electrifying connection
Surprising us both as we stared at an endless future
Our bond unbreakable
Transcending tradition

We became family
T. L. Cooper is an author and poet whose work aims to empower and inspire through an exploration of the human condition. Her poems, short stories, articles, and essays have appeared online, in books, and in magazines. Her published books include a collection of short stories, Soaring Betrayal, her Silhouette Poetry Series, and a novel, All She Ever Wanted. She grew up on a farm in Tollesboro, Kentucky. She currently lives in Albany, Oregon with her husband and three cats.

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