One loose thread is all it takes

for an entire tapestry to unravel.

An entire year's labour of love

can come undone in seconds.

Emotions change as quickly as

colours in kaleidoscopes,

a single misperceived look or pointed barb

can turn the comfort of calm into an atomic bomb.

When personalities can range

from laidback to neurotic and back again,

there is no guessing when moods will sour

from resentments repressed for far too long.

Like earthquakes that strike unexpectedly,

and level entire cities in an instant,

the ego can take control,

and tear families apart in minutes.

Strong, silent matriarchs are reduced to tears

by their ungrateful children,

siblings, once inseparable,

act more like polite strangers

who tiptoe around politics or religion.

Effective communication

is the only tool capable of

scaling the walls we build when we are hurt.

Alas, it is a rare talent that so few of us possess.

Unless assertiveness is an option, conflicts will snowball

until they are impossible to resolve.

Until we learn to let go of past hurts

that weigh us down, we will not evolve.

Instead, we will remain

stuck in this revolving door,

where we can assign blame 

without ever accepting our own faults.