Beyond Family

 

Family is now a generic term.

Family is a wide-open umbrella.

Blood or not blood.

This is how most of the world sees family.

 

The indigenous tribes

see family everywhere.

That is why we call the Earth, Mother.

 

A mother is supposed to nurture,

support, and empower us.

 

Mother Nature,

Gaia,

Unci Maka

Ni Mama Akii

Mother Earth.

 

Her warmth comes from her inner core

and radiated with her trees

that help us breathe easier.

She whispers advice through the wind,

telling us to take it slow.

 

Father sky,

warms us with his sunbeams,

Sending messages with clouds

by saying to let the inner child

come out and play once in a while,

as the rain comes down

to wash away our negative thoughts.

 

For us family is just a word.

We have a community of elders

willing to teach by song and dance.

Aunts and Uncles who take stress

away by making us laugh.

Brothers and sisters

to back us up when were cornered by life.

 

They don’t need to be by blood.

Clans are what tie us together.

As long as you know

your birthplace,

clans

and tribe.

You’ll have family everywhere.