speak*

he reads the sports section
rustling the pages

her fixed gaze is lost on him.
the television is muted, the fan
creaks
as it revolves.

she gathers the words against
her teeth and they
clack
with anticipation
but her breath lets out in a rush and
the words
flee
before she can force them into sounds.

he turns the page and settles in
to read.




*B.A. senior thesis poem