Semantics

What family is isn’t up to anyone else—

my sister and I claim an aunt who helped

raise us. She kept us after divorce attempted

to cut away our kinship. Decades later,

her porch is one of my favorite places to be.

Nearly two hours south of him, my nephew

claims a brother. Born only six weeks apart,

they’ve always known it to be natural to love

each other without concern for parentage.

Sometimes a cousin becomes the kind of friend

who dares forever to outdo her dedication.

Uncles can fill voids left by those who choose

to leave. My mother and sister—they’ve been

the definition of everything.