dinner

Jia Hwang

we sit
the two of us
you face the tv

we sit
the two of us
you face the tv
i take turns glancing at
your face as i raise
my bowl to drink the
soup there are war torn
cries from the screen
not loud enough to disturb
the silence between us
the actress on that screen more
relevant to you than me
i know we may be caught in
some childish banter
it makes me wonder why
you still allow it to be this way
i may no longer be a child
but you forget i am yours
perhaps you know of it all too well
you’re still watching it
chewing rice between
your teeth
my mouth never opens
for speaking and
my eyes set fire
to the bridge
i can not
seem to cross.

Jia Hwang is a student completing her major in political science at the University of British Columbia. She is currently working on her poetry manuscript, Flies on Vacation. She lives in Coquitlam, British Columbia.

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