Saliva

Quite a week. So much so, that most mornings I had no time to write. So I offer a haiku to get back in the swing of things. Our saliva can now be used to help us see some parts of our ancestry, so we know where to look. Our saliva can be used to figure out which medications are more likely to work, which ones tweaked, and which ones are probably a no-go. I consider where to send my saliva, and how much I really want to know.

Our inner workings

Can be labelled in part, with

A swab inside our cheek.

I hear about the families

Families. We all have them.

I hear about the families:

The spouse

The children

The parents

The grandparents

The distant difficult relative

Who only appears

At Thanksgiving

Along with the turkey.

Hour after hour,

I hear about the families.

It is amazing

We all have them

Or people like them

They are woven with strands

Of similar DNA

If we look closely

We can see it

The blink of an eye

The tilt of the head

The turn of a phrase.

Some appear nightly

Some only at Thanksgiving

Along with the turkey.

I hear about the families

The client who did not

Want to meet with me:

I reminded him of a particular aunt

He preferred not to see.

He changed his mind.

I am grateful.