The Division Bell

my step-father and i painted the bedsit walls

white

without conversation.

i was tongue-tied, living out of town,

adjusting to life with a new bird

after betrayal

and long-haired grief.

i refused to eat the fish wrapped in newspaper

while we took a break,

i didn’t know you didn’t eat fish

he said,

i ate the chips

in a silence beyond silence,

ready to leave the city,

roll over the slow hill,

dreaming

with mothy intent, as ever 

Reviews

[...]

. overwhelming ... these lines especially ...

"i ate the chips
in a silence beyond silence"