Close Relatives – Distant Relations

a poem by Mukesh Setia

They are close relatives by chance,
But they befit a competitor or an enemy.

They are like the warning written on a car’s side mirror:
“Be careful, objects in the mirror appear closer than they are.”
They appear close to you but they are distant- very distant.

They never understand your emotions; they just want to dominate you.
They never lose the chance to beat you, bite you and suffocate you.
They have emotionless emotions; they kill you when you need to be rescued the most.
They make you feel guilty for all those things that they committed.

You being straight forward become the victim because sometimes
“You are too small to say anything”, at others,
“You are old enough to understand the situation.”

They are close relatives by chance,
But they befit a competitor or an enemy.

Why can’t close relatives ever be close friends?
Do we need to change the definition of ‘relatives’?

Why do I / You / We have close relatives with distant relations?