wishing you well poem

there isn’t a section of greeting cards for:

reaching out to your estranged adult child or estranged adult parent.

am i left to select a message that could also be given to

a cancer patient, a widow, a friend you haven’t heard from in a while?

should i select a landscape scene or a small animal-

something soft, universal, perhaps safe?

which image would best convey that

despite the mountain that divides us,

i only wish to tell you hi and wish you well

without initiating any real work to bridge our distance.

“you are in my thoughts”, “you are in my prayers”, “thinking of you”:

such simple messages,

but in my case overflowing with irony

because you are my family.

and not only are you in my thoughts and prayers,

but in my genetics, learned behaviors, decisions, health, and unhealth.

you had a major part in making me

and subsequently a major part in unmaking me.

and so i send you this greeting

through time and space and earth and shadows

to exhale a deep breath i’ve been holding for you for a while now

that just says “hi. i wish you well.”