Family Grave

Peas of the same pod

leaves of the same branch

yet brothers mock at each other

with closed fists,

and cockeyed curses

sister-in-laws re-write

rule books, sometimes

careful conversations

show the writing on the  wall

ambitious agendas aim to augur peace

others are two edged-swords.

Mother when alive,had no favourite child

her offspring after death

breaks the queue

to lay claims on the winning trophy,

the ancestral home.

Granchildren mooted by warring fathers

are sitting ducks to “dinner table” secrets

cousins haven’t broken bread together

their backs turned on each other.

All of them have a family name

calligraphed on a family grave

which are equal in size and shape

daughters are traded to cemeteries

of conjugal households

sons celebrate the curtain call

leaving behind a legacy of blood,

that isn’t thicker than water.