Father's Estate

Father's Estate

There stands your chair
as cold and forbidding
now in your absence
as it was when you
were present

My glass empties rapidly
as I try to moisten
the hard dry bread
it now lies as heavy as
a stone in my stomach

The quietness tells of
an iron control
just as if you were here
to ensure obedience
during the meal
we observe the silence
there is a time and place
for everything
dinner time is for eating
not useless conversation

Even now, alone at this
stingy meal
I dare not go against
your rules
and so you still seem to sit
at the head of the table
a spider in your web
weaving and spinning, playing
your malicious mind games.