The meal is blessed.
I sit quietly.
They talk.
I listen.
I begin to say something important,
something that

It’s been so cold lately.

I try again a few moments later, and I am lucky to

So how does the food taste?

My voice echoes in the

The neighbor’s dog did the craziest thing today.

I finish none of my sentences and no one notices.
They continue with the meal and partake in lively chatter without me.

I ask that someone please pass the

So guess what else happened?

I reach across the table and grab the peas.
They hurl a sour look at me.
I proceed to focus on my plate.
They are not important anymore.
The only thing that matters is the army of peas
I am creating on my plate.

Their laughter spills across the table and no one understands why mine does not.
They get mad and display the look again.

I focus on my peas.
They are all that matters right

So this guy in class today, he said the nicest thing, and we had such a good conversation.

After a while the table clears and I am left
in silence.
My only company is the army of peas, and
even they will not stay for long.
If those that think they matter do not want to hear, then I may as well tell my peas that

Oh … they have already rolled away.