the effort

the argument started like the lighting of a fuse
embers of an ongoing conflict spanning years &
the fact remains, at this age, neither of these family members need see each other any more unless they choose to---
so while one begins to chew the other out &
soon the new argument just becomes an addendum to the last
time they sparred,
and as the typical apathetic conclusion begins to loom on the horizon
(since neither parties are really listening to the other),
one of the parties changes their role &
begins to plea for a different ending to this
fight---
an effort is now being made by one party to
end this ongoing fight &
to change the course of their personal history,
this effort is a greater challenge than most things in either one of their lives
because it entails immediate family,
because it means real change
which cannot be won overnight &
which means that old ghosts & horrible memories
which have held together hate for so long
must be buried underground,
deep underground,
like so many successfully smothered hatchets
which have helped keep families together
while others continue to be torn apart &
destroyed by much less.