A broken family seems as abnormal as
a robin with no call.
It's a spicy jalapeño pepper
flavorless and dull.

A broken family is as undesired as
a newborn's heart suddenly stopping still.
Or like the sun never rising
over a Tennessee hill.

A broken family sounds as sad as
an owl in the moonlight
or the sharp winter snow in
the gutter, no longer blinding white.

Yet so many complain about how
broken their family seems
her dad's and alcoholic,
her mother likes to scream.

Though no family's perfect
(I've seen no golden glow),
I promise that in love or hate
family roots still grow.

So you can love your family with warmth
like hot cinnamon gum
or slam your door before them
silence seeping out like sound following a gun.

Either way there's no denying
from where your true self stems
it's in the roots of your first family:
they're your beginning and your end.

-Emily Eubanks