I never meant it to reverberate on you
but I was coiled like an irritable spring
ready to leap out at the slightest touch.
Your withdrawal into frosty disapproval
was quite justified of course
We’ve eaten in silence
How ridiculous we must appear,
dining in such elegant extravagance
forcing down expensive mouthfuls.
There’s more than the table between us
and the wine is nearly finished
It’s really been one hell of a day
Perhaps it was bad for you, too;
I never thought of that – you looked
so cool, poised, beautiful as ever.
This dinner was a dismal idea.
We have no privacy
I’m pouring out the last of the wine
Apology is a reluctant fibre wedged
between my teeth. I do not want
to say the words you want to hear
I don’t want to be child to your parent.
I seek an adult equal pact
If I trade the words, so difficult to extract,
will they appease the hurt you bear so plainly?
Will you un-purse your lips, let me kiss them?
I need to know the terms
before I make my peace
I slide the sugar-bowl of truce across the table
Your eyes meet mine in tentative negotiation.
Your lovely eyes, reflecting the anxiety in mine.
We reach an unspoken settlement.
Hands cross no-mans linen, touch and hold.
Smiles, mirrored, broaden into ruefulness
Yes, we’ve had one hell of a day.