childhood memories
crashing cutlery laughing teasing
please only one brussel sprout
elbows off the table
now silence crackles
hammering heart
confusion bewilderment
tenterhooks
boys downcast
sunday lunch reinvented as a trial
I gather myself in the tautness
speaking too brightly
no one is fooled
except maybe my youngest
our conversation bounces brittlely
covert cautious looks exchanged
He leaves
We breathe