Battle of Egos

This- This tableau of Mental images, of Fixed scenes, this “Battle of Egos” is Relentlessly looping In my mind. An annual gathering of kith and kin Created a backdrop of statue-like characters Blindly unaware of a Crisis stirring. Off to the side, there are the mothers, Pillars of love for their sons, Paralyzed with the knowledge that they are helpless, Helpless as they watch The conflict unfolding. There- There are the Fathers and Sons- Distant and deaf to each other, who, in their inability to Set aside their own sense of rightness and wrongness, Reach a point of no return. A plea, from one, is given, but seen as a Challenge from the other, and the whole Facade of civility collapses. With faces frozen and actions rigid, Rage and resolve coalesce. Fearful and dauntless, fathers confront sons and sons their fathers, and in that absolute moment Familial roles shift. Everything - everything is different, yet Nothing changes. Rooted and unmoved, egos remain. So much is lost. Nothing- Nothing is gained.