no silence is more palpable
than the one at our table -
strip away the honeyed pretense

adjust your lens
and take a picture;
artificial smiles frozen forever

meal finished. you pick up the tab
the atmosphere in here couldn't be any more fab
face it - the family you need

...it isn't real: can't you feel it?

please, see the shallowness of it all
for a careful pantomime can never
ever
be
a reunion dinner.