Maya once said that she can note the obvious differences in the human families

And I wondered if I could ever know them as well,

Then I stumbled into a restaurant at dinner time and was assaulted by several anomalies:              

A dysfunctional family, a loud group of friends, and an old couple all of which I will tell

 

The broken family sat in desolate silence at table two

Each itching to say something, but fearing the affects of a tongue set free to run

Wishing they knew each other better so that they could actually enjoy this dinner

Instead they simulated occupation with their food, desiring to join the lively fun at table one    

 

Table one is a different story as an exuberant group of friends have just been seated

There are no lapses in the besiege of words and fragments of sentences being lobbed into the air

They have so much to say that they trip over each other’s words trying to be heard over the other  

But there is never anger only elation, so much so that they scarcely notice that nearby is a lovely old pair

 

The two aged lovers sit in complacent silence at table three

They reminisce on the excitement of youth and the strain of parenthood

Through one profound look they exchange voluminous monologues that the other tables cannot fathom 

As they prepare to ask for the check, they silently wish each table a rich meal that is all together good

 

And so in that restaurant my eyes were opened

For as table three settled their balance and left

Table two was transferred to the recently vacated seats seeing that their children opted for a rain check

And the members of table one each found a table two that suit them best