When Blood Isn't Enough Poem by Vanessa Alvarez

They said we share the same red stream,
That I was born from their living dream.
But blood alone cannot make a home,
Nor mend the ache of being alone.

I looked for love in their embrace,
But found a cold and distant place.
Their words were sharp, their silence loud,
I stood beneath a loveless cloud.

They called me kin, but not with care,
Their eyes would pass, their hearts weren't there.
I bore their name, but not their grace—
A stranger wearing a borrowed face.

I learned that blood can bind and break,
Can give a name, but still forsake.
That family isn't just a tie,
It's who will hold you when you cry.

So I built my truth from what I lacked,
From every moment they turned their back.
And though I carry what they gave,
I walk a path they never paved.