Carry your family like

burlap sacks of rice

 

Gather your history with

calloused palms like cotton

 

Prick the tips of

your fingers

on the splintered pine

of your family tree

 

Rip the soles of

your feet from the

tar coated roads

 

Denounce and embrace your

last name in the same breath

because it was never yours

in the first place

 

Love your family with

leather smiles and

rotting brown teeth

 

Carry your family on

your back like

gold ore