Bed & Breakfast

“That wing of course is closed”

said Magda whose venomous green eyeshadow

matched her voice;

“I’d have that lanced if I were you”

thinks Reni

Who never says exactly what she thinks.

“Wrong word:  wing”

Thinks Andreas

“to use about a house tethered toad-like to the lawn

A real fixer-upper”.

Andreas never says what he thinks either

But he knows about fixer-uppers.

It’s too late now.

At dinner they quarrel about Ezra Pound;

Pretending to agree.

Squeaky bedsprings bastardize a sad romance;

Hopeless beds mandate all sex standing up.

 This butler’s deaf and dumb,

But knew the one way out:

He was in for the tip of a lifetime.

At breakfast the debate about Plath

Turns violent; the danger

Of murdering yourself with a kitchen appliance is

They are everywhere.

What a refreshing holiday, says Reni.

We should do it more often says Andreas.

Truth never spoken –

Mission accomplished.