There is nothing of me
That is solely me
Each crinkle of my eye
And knowledge of each bird
Comes from my family
I harbor in me
Their hopes, dreams, and desires
Made up of their love and obsessions
My laugh belongs to my mother
And my sneeze to my grandfather
I was imbued with my aunt’s love for books
And my uncle’s infinite thirst for knowledge
I speak to every person I meet
Like my father before me
I am a collection of other people’s parts
I was shaped by many people
Like my unwillingness to back down from a fight
Taught to me by a woman
Who wandered into my life
My thoughts are at home in other’s minds
My toothy smile is mirrored on my Mimi’s face
And each eyeliner wing was hard won
By watching my sister’s skilled hands
I am not my own
But I was shaped by the people I love