Ennui - 2

There was a time when I was free and smiled

To see him easing down the street to visit,

Flowers in hand, a tiny moment stolen

On his way back to his digs in Seven Dials.

But now I am no different from these birds

Trapped under glass, as dead as any rat

Swept out with last night's ash, casual relics

Of a glittering past, their song long since unheard.

Each night he sits, and even when we eat

He says no more to me than 'Pass the salt'

And for the rest, I might as well not be

My life reduced to keeping his house neat.

          If once we loved, when did it fade away

          Into this silence, and this endless day?

Brian Hick (on seeing a silent couple eating out)

©copyright Sally Hick 21.10.22