Family Gatherings

Whether it be Thanksgiving, Christmas,

or maybe it’s Uncle Rob’s birthday,

there will always be the awkward silence

between you and your cousins

who you barely know

as they talk at the table

about the brand new apartment

Jamie got, or how Jessica

is going to the Olympics

because she's just so great

at just about everything.

These family gatherings

become like a healing bone.

A long dull process,

becoming impatiently painful

to end, almost impossible to bare.