Legacy's Burden

My mother’s voice carries through the line,

her words like stones tossed in a well,

a story of traits I can’t outshine,

a lineage stitched with whispers of hell.

She spoke of a cousin, a shadow in pain,

inherited illness, a weight to bear.

It echoes through me like an unbroken chain,

a reminder of roots tangled deep in despair.

A cracked family photo, fading with time,

a moment caught in the stillness of fate,

where smiles now strain in a brittle mime,

what’s left of our joy, just remnants of weight.