You sat in Nero’s
the coffee cafe
in the high street
sipping your cappuccino

and there was a guy and dame
on the next table talking
and as hard as you tried
not to listen

the conversation crept
into your air space
invaded your ears
and she said

I work all day
long hours
and when I come home
all he wants

is to have it off with me
and the guy said
what each day?
yes

the dame said
and I told him  
I’m tired when I get home
it’s not the first thing

on my mind
when I get it in
and what did he say?
the guy asked

the dame wore glasses
and sipped her coffee
and there was coffee foam
on her upper lip

like a moustache
and she wiped it off
with a napkin
and then she said

he said he’d been
at work all day too
and it was the first thing
on his mind when he got home

you sipped more
of your cappuccino
your wife was talking
about something she’d seen

in a store
but it was not her size
and you showed the look
of understanding

and your son
was probably thinking
of the next football match
on TV

and the dame said
all I want to do
when I get home from work
is take a bath or shower

and unwind
the guy nodded
and you supposed he wished
he could be there

when she took her
bath or shower
and you looked beyond them
at the crowded cafe

the various people there
trying to push
the conversation away
but it was still there

the guy said
what did you tell him then?
o him
he never listens

she said
he only hears
what he wants to hear
the guy leaned forward

and she said
it gets on my nerves
having that to face
each day I get in

from work
you looked
at your coffee cup
the whiteness of the china

the colour of the coffee
and the conversation going on
and he said
it’s so bad that

he needs to back off
and the dame said
I gave in eventually
let him have his way

you looked at your wife
as she talked
of the weather
and the threat of snow

and you
looking at your cell phone
thinking it was time to go.