THE DINING ROOM

A tableau at the table (seen through the eyes

Of a satyr, prurient behind a pillar, in the blue

And gold Maxfield Parrish reproduction hung

Over the sideboard): Uncle John, Aunt Ruthie, mother,

Grandpa, my sister (Joanna) posed —a photograph—convened

For Sunday dinner (chicken, dumplings, cranberry

Sauce) served on a white damask tablecloth,

White damask napkins criss-crossed on their plates,

Looking toward a boy, five years old or more,

Who spills his milk (Is he really so distressed, abandoned

By his father?) Tantrum and tears. Grandma,

Cook and comforter, so real, outside the photoframe,

In the kitchen, she cannot rush in through

The swinging door to reach the heart of the poem.