The Orchid Child

It struck me,

that way,

when I first read

those lines about epigenetics.

It was when determinism

first evolved

into determination.

Genetics,

Those winding lines of DNA,

The salvation of some,

The damnation of many,

became the epicenter

Of a new world.

We discovered that

Environment spoke truth

To the expression of our bodies

It showed us a new light

That the world can’t just be stone-cold

Genes were not a death sentence.

Having a “vulnerability”,

was not the end

of the story.

These chains never were

Bound by birth,

Because it’s true:

Lifetimes of loss

Can end with you.

The illness of the mind

Was never trapped in these letters

Never found under the scopes

Of reluctant observers

It cannot be written

Like the murders of plot

Because maybe

Just maybe

Potential

Is the greatest risk of them all

There’s more when you’re raised

As the orchid

You’re meant to be.