The Perfect Family Picture

Poem by Julia Powell

This print hangs on my wall,
A father
A mother
Three girls
Two boys
The perfect family.

The father is wearing a shirt and tie,
—Smiling in this one
The mother is holding the youngest boy
—Focusing on her smile
The two boys are beaming
—Sharing their own special bond
The two oldest girls are sinfully beautiful
—can do no wrong in Daddies eyes
The youngest girl in the corner
—Rarely noticed, is me.

What no sees behind the perfect smiles are.
The oldest daughter will expose her deepest secret
—She’s pregnant
—At 17
—And marrying the father.
The two brothers will go out, get drunk.
—And drive,
—hit a tree.
One will be paralyzed from the waist down
—The other won’t survive.
—Ending their bond forever.

The father will reel from the experience by
—working all the time
—and rarely staying at home.
The mother will seek divine guidance
—from the bottom of a bottle.

The other sister, will not marry,
—Go to college
—Get some degree
—Trust no one.
Not sure what happened to her after that.

The parents will divorce
—after a final blow-up that caused
The father to walk out
—to his mistress
—And not return.

But me, the shy girl in the corner
—try to be perfect
—Be noticed
—Go to therapy
—In hopes of putting my family back together.

So I will gaze at the perfect family picture on the wall
—And never take it down.

Contributor’s Note: My name is Julia Powell and I have been writing ever since I can remember. My friends would always make fun of me because I would rather sit on the sidelines and write.