Free Lunch

There really is no such thing
as a free lunch,my brother said
laughing at his own cleverness.
And cleverness in short supply
in our particular family tree
laden with damaged fruit
Fruit which falls farther
from the parent tree with
each passing generation
Generation after generation
dividing and diluting
the gene pool from whence we came
Came seeking the perfection
which we crave
but do not possess in abundance.