DAHling, how ARE you?

I call across the room to Cynthia (who’s looking dreadful)
‘Such a lovely frock, you always have such gorgeous taste.
I’ve been thinking of your accident (you talk of nothing else)
and thinking, though it’s such a funny story (yes, it is, it really is)
it must have been so terrifying (is that David over there?)
How awful. Was it really? Yes, I can imagine
(who’s the harpy that he’s talking to? she isn’t one of us)
Oh, dahling, if you ever feel like that again (pray heaven not)
you know you can rely on me’ (he’s moving off, I really must …)
I slink towards my target
‘Dahling, where have you been hiding?’

Kathy Gee lives in Worcestershire and works in museums and heritage. In 2016 her first poetry collection – Book of Bones – was published by V. Press – http://vpresspoetry.blogspot.co.uk/p/book-of-bones.html and she wrote the spoken word elements for a contemporary choral composition – http://suiteforthefallensoldier.com/ .