Unwelcome Guests Poem by Mary Champion

I brace myself for their arrival -
the unwelcome guests -
here by invitation
but not by desire-
the ill-fitting relatives,
the outworn friends;
relationships fostered by duty
rather than love.

Engaging our counterfeit smiles
we embark on brittle conversations -
talking about the weather
and the latest political scandal -
nothing too personal -
that would be asking for trouble,
like skating on thin ice
or bungee jumping
tethered only by a single strand of silk.

At least the food is sincere -
quite delicious
though I say so myself.
I would never short-change that appetite.
Coffee and After Eights,
brandy and boredom.
Then, at last,
as soon as etiquette permits,
they dish up their oven-ready excuses,
and make their get-away.

I breathe a sigh of relief.
How many times must we repeat this charade
until one of us has the courage
to drop the pretence.