nothing
is what they say
sitting in nice chairs
at a nice table
having a nice conversation
while a nice waitress
rattles the specials
smiling about being 50
and working
here, still

and there’s us
with our pleasant conversation;
weddings, dresses, grandsons
and free samples
while we eat our nineteen dollar fast food lettuce
from expensive rectangles
and pay separately
with plastic

it is expected
when one says her fiancee dreamed
of writing songs for french horn
but got a real job instead
that i will applaud anyway
for stillborn music
and his new car;
that this was the
practical choice

the other’s daughter - a dancer
in love, in mexico
she was in a movie once
with ben affleck, you know
but that was years ago
it’s going nowhere
soon she’ll have to
face reality

i wonder what they would have said
if i’d told them
i want to be a writer
with trees outside my window
that i prefer soup from a can
walking, and cheap plates
so i can throw them if i’m angry
that i eat in places where
my elbows, and dreams
are welcome above the table.
that i am in love with a woman.

i wonder what they would have done
if i had said
something