Family Ties

At dinner, the conversation unravels like yarn,

a family quilt stitched with threads of disdain,

a fork rests untouched, bearing silent harm,

as judgments hang heavy, heavy like rain.

Stories slip through, half-formed and terse,

each word a collision of love and of blame,

bound by new ties, yet feeling rehearsed,

a dance of the heart in a tangled old game.