Our Family

Our family means
the world to me,
but sometimes we aren't
as close as we could be.

We have gone through the good times
and through the bad,
our lives have been full of the happy
and of the sad.

As these times of trouble
bring us closer together,
I know that our lives
will go on forever.

We have lost some of those that we love
and more will surely follow,
but for us to fall apart
is something we cannot allow.

So let's take some time today
to remember those we've lost,
with fondness and with laughter
as there is no earthly cost.

Grandparents and cousins
and sisters and sons,
within all of these and more
is where our history runs.

Careers have arisen
and they have fallen too,
but we just pick ourselves up
and dust ourselves off and do what we must do.

Failure is something
that happens in life,
along with war, famine,
and strife.

But if we let them get to us
and knock us to the ground,
the enemy will attack
and chaos will abound.

If ever you feel
the weight of tumbling boulders,
remember that the rest of us are here
with our broad shoulders.

Our brothers and sisters
and nephews and nieces,
are all that keep this world
from going to pieces.

We are all a small part
of a much greater whole,
and the family tree we've created
is our totem pole.

With stories there to tell
and tears there to shed,
of babies that were born
and couples who have wed.

But there is always room
for our tree to grow,
with branches spread wide
and leaves all aglow.

With happiness and friendship
our roots are set deep,
and I hope that this poem
is a memory to keep.

So as we wander
the paths of our life,
remember the happiness
and remember the strife.

Because good memories are fun
to bring into the light,
and bad ones remind us
of our strength and our might.

So please enjoy life to the fullest
and take what it has to give,
but of all else remember
that life is there to live!!!