I recently paid a visit to a close family friend's house to pick up some goods.  The mother of this lovely family became aware of a sister of mine whom I did not know.  A woman, who is very close to my age and who lives in another country.  

This information when I first was encountered with it, was truly earth shattering, especially because I grew up an only child, a lonely only child.  However, I discovered something that was very important when in a conversation with my friend about this here topic.  It was mutually understood by us that a great epidemic, a dis-ease that we as black people were infected with purposefully, is the illness of family.  

The chasms that we experience within our family structure, can be both alienating and isolating. Yet with this information, and a different vantage point, this can be indicative of how vast our blood stretches.  How rich our lineage.  All this to say, i haven't had this conversation with many other yet, but I wonder if there is anyone else out there who is becoming well acquainted with these kinds experiences.  

Although these instances can leave us perplexed, we can still learn something substantial from them with the right perspective and digestion, like say... poetry.

Welcome to December's Piece of Clay.'Tis soon the season for family, community, and amends. So stop... and learn... and love.