The Politics of Family Gatherings

I was introduced

to politics

early on:

"They don't talk"

implying the history

between them

that I have

yet to learn,

all of.

Checked off

the list

to learn:

To be diplomatic

in situations of

emotion because,

not everyone

can hold it down,

not everyone

can let it out.

Some people

haven't let go

of their generational

trauma; some of us

are trying.

Sometimes we have

yet to learn the

Whole Back Story.

Makes it hard for us

to be reliable

narrators; rememberers;

we sit and think,

remember our version–

the right version;

but everyone

is living in a different

version of a

black hole; you

don't know what's on the

other side, or where you started,

but, you hope it's good–

on all fronts. That it doesn't

send in more trauma.

Not all trauma

is equal; not all trauma

is unequal.

There is no

good way to define

the trauma that

traps itself

inside your body;

there is no good

way to define the

trauma that

brings you outside

yourself. It all happens

to us, equally; not

here to give a fuck

to whom,

or even really,

about what;

it just is. In that way,

we can learn from

our trauma; in every way

we should learn

from our trauma; so as

not to carefreely

send it out

to be absorbed in

someone else;

do you like the worst side of yourself?