thicker than blood

so it has been often enough said

that nothing is quite thicker than blood 

and even more so when we choose to

walk down that aisle it is never to

sanguinal relations that we bond

only siblings can be full of blood

and one’s issue is only half, yet

offspring grow and go their merry way

what remains behind is that ring and

to whom all these years of yours belong

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

An interesting write. Blood can certainly be thicker than water but not always. If you are very lucky a ring can be a stronger bond. I have four siblings, one no longer with us. We have been fortunate that our bond is incredibly strong. Brothers and sisters through thick and thin. Certainly lasted much longer than my first marriage. There is much to ponder on here. Our parents were instrumental in our closeness. I thank them for that. Good to read you Freds as always. I also thought of our late Queen and her children's display of unity in grief.


Chris

[Red Brick Keshner]

That is really encouraging to hear Chris and prods us to mindfulness at the many ways that relationships can go and how we are able to influence that for the good or not so good. /Freds.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

I enjoyed reading this. The place where we offer ourselves as a sacrifice to another, where we give ourselves over completely, so that we are no longer, our own, but another's is not by chance called an "altar". When we walk away from there we no longer have the old "me" but only the new "me" of two being made one. That is what marriage means to me. Too many people try to hold onto the old "me" of their selfish past when supposedly giving themselves to another. They want to hold back something or everything of their old "selves". That isn't a "marriage" at all. It's a legal arrangement. You'll see this sort of thing in "pre-nuptial" agreements...the urge to keep something of the old person when they should be two becoming one and a new creation. My opinion on that will certainly meet with disdain and scorn by many, especially the wealthy. But I've also heard it's easier for a camel to pass through the needle's eye than for the wealthy to inherit heaven. Marital bliss can be a sort of heaven of its own.

[John]

An interesting and thoughtful meditation on the proverb Blood is thicker than water. The poem opens on a sceptical note. Something may often be said,  but this doesn't necessarily make it true or mean that it can't be subject to question or enquiry. Blood may tie us to a particular group, biologically, but a ring can represent a more significant link to an individual or group of individuals. Children inherit only 50% of their parents' DNA, so the almost proprietorial claim to a son or daughter is only partially true. In any case, whatever claim a parent may have, offspring inevitably 'go their merry way'? The poem hinges, I think, on the word 'belong' - an alternative title could be Belonging. I like the way the phrase 'years of yours', expressing poignancy, sadness, puzzlement, even a slight bemusement, puts a little more emphasis on that final key word.

[Red Brick Keshner]

Thanks John for the in depth treatment of this poem. That is a sparkling contrast which lends more character and import to something that started as an almost inarticulate ache about 2 decades now. Cheers, Freds.

[Robert Haigh]

We all know the old saying: "Blood is thicker than water," and to all intents and purposes it usually is. I know certain families who seem dysfunctional to the outsider, with constant arguments going on. Yet, these same families stick together like glue if they are criticised or attacked by outsiders. Families can be strange entities, but they are still families! Friends sometimes come and go, but families are there for life! Interesting write, Fred!

[Red Brick Keshner]

So true Robert。 And it's also like fences and grass... always greener to our reckoning.

[Ken e Bujold]

lovely write Freds, feeling a bit melancholy this morning? I really like the only siblings can be full of blood

Ken e

[Red Brick Keshner]

It was a poem that began its journey in 2005 thereabouts and found its physical form this year. Thanks Ken e.

[Ken e Bujold]

thats how they go Fred. Same for my O' Yeats last night. Was sitting out on the back deck nursing a beer, going through fragments on my laptop and the poem finally tumbled into place.