In addition to reading this poem, I was asked to speak a few words about family. Mike was my uncle.
This poem speaks to me of finding and accepting who you are, because of (or in spite of) the face, the name, the family you are given. It is about acceptance.
There is a famous quote by Leo Tolstoy. I think it is the opening line of Anna Karenina. I am paraphrasing: "Every happy family is exactly the same. But each unhappy family is unhappy in its own unique way." I like this quote. But I don't really think it's true. I think ALL families are unhappy in some way. But that doesn't make them bad, or wrong. It just makes them real. It gives shape and contour to the mask of the face you are given.