I am ten years late.
She is my grandmother,
But did not raise my father.

I am ten years late.
She is my sister, by my father,
But she can never look
Me in the eyes.

I am ten years late.
They are my cousins.
I pretend to smile and make them
Believe I feel comfort in
Being with them.

I am ten years late.
And now my grandmother
Smiles to see her grandchildren.
My sister is grateful to be a family, for once.
My cousins are just happy to be here, but me,
I am too late to understand.

I am ten years late.
I look at these strangers with
Eyes, lips and noses just like mine
They talk about closing the gap in the family.
They talk about becoming a family now,
Which is left up to my generation because
We are young.

Suddenly, I am thinking my mother
Had me right on time because
I can feel the warmth from my family
As we sit at the round table staring in silence.
Then something touches my soul
Where all my emotions are trapped, and a tear
Slowly rolls down my smooth skin.
As it hits my shirt, I wipe the damp spot with
My hand and realize that the only way I can help
Close the family gap is to let my heart loose and
Catch up on time.