On Lingering

The jokers cast to the table’s corner

are weeping, but no players hear 

over the sound of shuffling cards. 


They play the game of blindness, 

of addresses and interrogatives, 

senses of neglectful concentration. 


Together, two dejected cards lie 

face-up to perform 

that which must be left unsaid. 


They’re on the table’s corner. 

Surely, they’ll throw them away 

eventually.