Family Secrets

Just when I thought that I knew them all One tumbled forth from a careless tongue I’m left a bit stunned, not sure how to feel About this bit of knowledge revealed I have known that I almost wasn’t to be And that Providence ultimately played its hand But, what I didn’t know until late yesterday Is that I was to be adopted, for being unplanned My mother admitted that she didn't think She could handle more children; she'd already had four But in the delivery room changed her mind And decided she'd keep my twin brother and me I’m left wondering how my life would have been If I had been raised by somebody else My life wasn’t easy, was a struggle, in fact But if all that were different, then I wouldn't be "Me" It seems odd that I now own this silent ache For it makes no difference to me in the end Still, there it is-- the hollow, pervasive pang In my chest as I ponder this old/new truth