Sitting with wife in a pub

[tonywalt]

They sit across the pub, near the rain-streaked glass,
her hand around his, a kind of promise.
I lift my pint — foam gone thin —
I say something my wife can’t hear.

Outside, a taxi idles, bored of waiting.
Inside, the young talk too fast,
as if speech could outpace the years
already circling them unseen.

They’ll end up somewhere, out of breath,
mistaking heat for something more.
There’s worse than this — indifference,
and the years that follow.

Her laughter — their laughter — spills over
like beer from a tilted glass.
I look away,
and find my wife watching me.

[tailor STATELY]

Is it my imagination or are the younger people speaking at a faster clip than in the past? "There’s worse than this — indifference, / and the years that follow." - perhaps projecting the protagonist's plight upon the young couple. Enjoyed :)

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

[tonywalt]

Is it my imagination or are the younger people speaking at a faster clip than in the past? "There’s worse than this — indifference, / and the years that follow." - perhaps projecting the protagonist's plight upon the young couple. Enjoyed :)

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

Thanks Tailor! - hope all is well enough.

[tonywalt]

I have said it before, now saying again: I really wish we could get more people on the forum. Imagine all those good people that used to be here, now, doom scrolling