The Silent Meal
Poetry on The Things We Can't Say Out Loud
Even forgotten, she remembers.
š³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„š
The potatoes on a plate,
Crispy as you like them.
He no longer recalls asking.
š³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„š
"How was work?" I ask.
He sees them and nods.
We both pretend you answered.
š³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„š
You used to be a rock,
Solid, grounded, sturdy--
Reliable.
š³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„š
Now, a sharp stone.
š³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„š
Moss-covered.
š³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„š
Painful.
š³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„š
I silence the jabbing pain
Of the pricks
As you roll.
š³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„š
The words that sting.
Your loud rage.
š³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„š
Instead, I fry
Your potatoes.
Bake your bread.
š³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„š
So I sit
With you
Waiting for you
To tell me
That you know me.
š³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„š
You whisper a name--
Not mine.
š³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„š
But I have
Your eyes.
Your love for the Rolling Stones.
š³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„š
For these, I fry
Your potatoes,
Brew your coffee
š³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„š
And sit,
Waiting
š³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„š
With a
Quiet
Whisper
"Dad"--
For you
To hear.
š³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„šāš„š§šÆš„š§š§š„šš³š„š
Original poem by Michelle Liew. AI tags are coincidental.
About the Creator
Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin
Hi, i am an English Language teacher cum freelance writer with a taste for pets, prose and poetry. When I'm not writing my heart out, I'm playing with my three dogs, Zorra, Cloudy and Snowball.
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Comments (8)
Beautifully written.
š
Well-wrought!
Beautiful sadness
Heartbreaking, brought tears to my eyes
A lovely and very real poem, thankyou for sharing xx
Oooo, this sure was emotional. Loved your poem!
I can really feel the pain of presence and absence at the same time here, it also made me a little hungry lol.