It Was Noisy In The Dining Room

It was noisy in the dining room
“What was it you said?
I can’t hear you.”

She had been
Dealing her words around the table
Like cards.

With each hand she dealt
The cards left the room
She was not playing a game

I had never seen her eyes mist over
I had never seen her hold her mouth
Without expression

“Would you like to go to the ladies room?”
A smile
To this, the answer is always,”yes”.

We sat in the hallway,
Outside the doorway to the
The lady’s room (close enough)

We sat
In chairs,
Silence sat with us

My knee touched her knee
The eloquence of her pain
Held no words

Her eyes mirrors
In which I could see
Myself holding her hand

I wanted to take her pain
Into myself
And heal it

I wanted her to
Rest
From all of everything.

When she spoke
Each word fell
Like a shard of glass

Bouncing
Then skidding
Across the floor

Into hidden places
That I was not
To find

“I want you to know you are not invisible.
I want you to know I have seen tears covering your eyes without rest.
I want you to know I acknowledge your pain.”

“What you see is not the truth”, she said
Then her eyes
Filled with tears again.

I don’t know why.

















“There are parts of us that are neither dark nor light or nebulous grey. They are just parts of us.”
-Juliana Moon