Family quarrels are bitter things. They don’t go by any rules. They’re not like aches or wounds; they’re more like splits in the skin that won’t heal because there’s not enough material. ~F. Scott Fitzgerald, American fiction writer

Silence just might be
Worse than angry words.
At least with angry words
One has communication.
Silence is so … quiet, so empty,
Like the vast wasteland
Decried decades ago.

Still, it’s angry words
That wound so bitterly.
Angry words that scar,
Leaving hurt feelings
And bitter memories.
That cause rifts in relationships
And once said, cannot be taken back.

Family isn’t the place
For this type of insidiousness.
Family is where love should prevail.
Support, encouragement, and loyalty triumph.
And peace predominate.
At least, that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
Sad that too often it doesn’t happen.