Friday, July 19, 2013

Civil War

We sit in silence over breakfast,
insulated
by newsprint walls -
civilized, distant;

each with our
separate
thoughts and plans -
civilized, distant.

We part for the day with a peck -
civilized, distant.

We sit in silence over dinner,
electronic buffer between us,
no need to interact -
civilized, distant.

If you can’t say anything nice…


For G-man's FF55.

24 comments:

  1. Oh my - well I love you newsprint walls! thanks-

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  2. ugh...what a hard reality to exist in but so true of so many as well...ha, nice last line...yes, the dangers of that for sure...i would rather communicate even if....cause i could not live within it...

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    1. Yes, that don't say anything can backfire for sure.

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  3. Mary Bach...
    An absolute DEAD ON description of more relationships than we can imagine.
    What a fantastic little Gem of writing.
    Loved your Silent 55
    Thanks for playing, thanks for being such a World Class contributor.
    Have a Kick Ass Week-End

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    1. Thank you Galen. Hope you have a great weekend too!

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  4. Wow, those cones of silence are the absolute worst and usually ring a death knell for a relationship. You captured that state of affairs perfectly, Mary.

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  5. This sad little scene you describe plays out over and and over and over. We miss so much joy in life, a shame.

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  6. Fake saying something mean? haha So many live such a way at their bay.

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  7. Yes, sometimes one needs that sort of wall to survive. And sometimes you have to climb over and run for the hills! The refrain here--civilized, distant--emphasizes the alienation perfectly. I recommend more glowworms in their diet. ;_)

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  8. I would hate to live in that environment for long. I've certainly seen it done, though.

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    1. Yes, it's surprisingly common from what I observe.

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  9. I'd go "native" fairly quickly :) "Civil" is experienced beautifully in this poem.

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  10. It does sound quite civil, but to have a "war" you need fire and emotions. Sounds like that fire went out some time back.

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    1. You know Tim, I struggled with the title for this, and I think you're right. It's more like a cold war, or something...

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  11. You could maybe talk about Jackson . . . ?

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  12. Sounds like the end of my marriage, although at the very end I got hostile and told him to get his drug-taking, cheating ass out of my life. He's gotten better since as far as the drug use goes, I give him that much. He did it for our kids.

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  13. This was quietly powerful. Reminded me of a New Yorker cartoon where the married couple is sitting wordlessly next to each other, staring straight ahead, with the caption "Minimum Security Prison."

    Great work, my friend.

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  14. The repetition of "civilized,distant" really is powerful..it keeps hammering in the coolness of the relationship

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