Predictive

You missed a ‘h’

wrote ‘tanks’ instead

of ‘thanks.’

And because we

were enjoying our new-found

online connection

I wrote: ‘Do you want

to join me for tea and sardines ?’

There was a pause -

a long pause – before

you replied: ‘Sounds kinda

fishy to me!’

Laughing face. Laughing face.

‘Tea and sarnies’ I said ‘not sardines!

Bloody predictive text!’

Smiley cowboy face

(my favourite).

‘Yes.’ you replied. ‘Tanks.’

‘Tanks’ it seemed was

now our go-to joke.

But when we finally met

in the Co-Op café,

in real space and time,

the thread between us

didn’t hold. Too many

tanks sitting on our

respective lawns;

too many sardines

swimming

against our tide.

It was, I suppose,

all kinda…

             Predictive.