keeper of the skeletons

burden of the westernized nuclear family

a need for a keeper of the skeletons

may or may not be sufficient conversation

at the annual reunion of the extended

where advantages of the tribe & like-minded

human groupings of non-western peoples

shine over the gossiping keeper

as s/he weaves a web of half-truths

that have been passed down through the ages

so that no one really knows the family history

because he said-she said mentalities

clog

what could have been a rich telling of

factual tales

which may not have been as talk-showy & sappy

but would nonetheless have been

true.