Genetics

A Poem on Inheritance

Photo by Kevin Wenning

I am my mother’s wounded heart, or else,
I am my mother, playing victim, each
word, moment, strung through the loom,
to create a story she tells herself, of
martyrdom, of doyenne
in despair
I am my father’s wine-soaked tongue, or else,
I am my father, flush with the fumes of Marlboro Lights
and 2 by 4’s, I am my father’s hands as they build
I am my father’s words as they tear apart. I listen to my
father’s…