reserved table

hear the expectant hush
feel the empty air

night lengthens
weighs heavy

colour form sound
fill the spaces

no longer reserved
the table supports the evening

reality is in the stained cloth
the crumbs the congealed fat

smoke curls into the air
hangs floats

laughter clashes against words
whispers slide and slip

edges and odours of weariness
wound drown
quietly

he is not

it is no day to cry in

the air is yours alone
he is not there
to drain all oxygen

the colours
are true and clear
he is not there
to dull the sunlight

the space
is wide and ample
he is not there
to pitch nightmare angles

it is no day to cry in
he is not

Dawn Bruce is an Australian poet living in Sydney. She is widely published throughout AustraliaÊin literary magazines, journals, anthologies and newspapers such as Hecate, Hermes, Social Alternatives, Poetrix, Newcastle Herald. She has read her work on radio and at numerous poetry venues in and around Sydney and has won many Australian wide poetry prizes. Her first collection of poetry, Stinging the Silence has been accepted by Papyrus Publishing. Dawn believes poetry is an echo, 'For echo is the sound of the voice exciting itself in hollow places' (Christopher Smart).