Poetry

Aphasia in Jessop West café

She won’t say it’s collapsing –
the roof of coherence –
like the cream on top of your latte
bit by bit
invisible
she sits politely
under the ceiling of your  glance
in the sanctuary of your voice
and hides the struggle
to control the leaking tea bag
Aphasia stages the intervals between the sips
cut—
pretention falls part
time to move back
to the silent scene.

Shirin Teifouri