Table for Two
by Corinne Caraway
Table for Two
We have breakfast at the table you built for me
in a friend’s garage out in Brooklyn
for that one Summer we had a patio
and you wanted to host a dinner party,
and I decided something plastic and foldable
just wasn’t going to cut it.
Only it turns out maybe I don’t even really like tables,
or using them anyway. I hid this from both of us
for the year we lived in the square shaped one bedroom
and grew accustomed to eating on the couch.
Sometimes, when you couldn’t bear to balance
another plate on your knees, you’d take dinner at your desk
while your previous efforts leaned deconstructed against a wall.
Don’t get me wrong, I like how tables look,
the inclusion and intimacy they invite us into.
Especially this one and the way it stands
sturdy and sound and spanning
the width of our living room, ever drenched in sun.
I like the idea of decorating it throughout the year,
and the way you care about placemats.
I like imagining it full.
It’s the table being just for two,
even when the day’s gone sideways
or something small came out sharp,
where we cannot be spared the seeing
but must face each other in spite of our failings
that makes me realize I’m still uncomfortable
being looked at for too long.xoxo
Corinne