sit down at the table my love

it’s been set for you, look

there’s your name, and this 

is the banquet to which we have 

been invited, and we have

in spite of ourselves

arrived, so sit now my love

beside me

did the usher push 

your chair in too close 

no matter my love

it’s not meant to trap you

and where else do you 

have to go anyway

so just sit now my love 

and eat

footmen are filling our bowls

with soup, no i don’t know 

what kind and no my love

i don’t like the smell either

but here it is before us

so hold your breath

if you must my love 

and swallow 

the next courses are already 

arriving, too fast my love

dishes piling up around us

a confusing mélange

of macabre buffet and

dinner service run amok

we can never keep up my love

but try

weren’t you taught to clean

your plate my love

the only proper thing to do

though i fear the server 

has dropped soup in my lap

and proper has flown off

with the blackbirds, oh my love

we sit

and we eat and we eat

from plates that never stop

refilling, from a meal that

will not end, my love

i am full and this banquet

has barely begun i fear

i may burst with one more bite

of grief

i wish for the simplicity

of leftovers, doggy bags,

ways to package this up

for later my love

to choose the time and terms

i long for shelf stable foods

and solitude with you my love

to dine

another course will come

soon from the kitchen

and there is no excusing

ourselves from this party

where grief is spread before us

the table is long and so is

the night, so just sit now my love

beside me

this is the banquet to which 

we have been invited

and we have, in spite of

ourselves, arrived

we did not choose the fare

but oh my love

the table is set for us and now

we eat