The White Elephant

The White Elephant


Check this out!
I am the white elephant
sitting in the room full of forbidden squabblers.
They will ignore me of course, invisible
to the naked eye, but a pregnant pause
in each of their hearts persists
despite their seemingly oblivious affect.
Bless them!

"Let's discuss your trip!"
"Wasn't the symphony divine last night?"
"Miss Mary looks so much better since she shed that unwanted weight!"

What about her unmarried, pregnant daughter? Or the wife
of the philandering husband? The unspoken son
who has AIDS? The mistress who is sitting
next to her lover's spouse. Or the confidante to all parties
present -- a kleptomaniac.

They weren't stupid. They saw me as I filled the room
with palpable tension, the aberration in their midst,
just left of their glances. Gossip seethingly brews,
but for now under control for this scene
of pleasantries, strained. This grouping,
these friendships. Wait until they depart
to their respective corners,
back to their overly significant
lives and self-righteous platitudes.

"I couldn't believe the gall, when she sat next to her!"
"Her son had over a thousand lovers!"
"I heard he was on drugs."
"Do you think she will forgive his cheating?"
"How much was the jewelry she stole?"

The elephant emerges,
roars its approval.
No more secrets!