If I Could Choose

Family memories are composed of the five senses

If I could choose my family,
I’d choose as my grandmother the
savor of homemade pumpkin
pie on a cool Thanksgiving day.

What sense becomes grandfather
if I could choose my family,
the aroma of Prince Albert
smoking tobacco in summer.

My father carols echoing,
on a snowy Christmas morning,
if I could choose my family,
as my mother I’d choose dawn’s light.

For sisters, brothers, and cousins
I’d choose the gentle touch of a
hand in a game of “Tag, You’re it!”
If I could choose my family.