Love in mitte

Prawn dumplings nestle in steaming broth, spring 

onions, slivers of chicken float, her hand 

on his, his lips on hers, we look, they smile, 

we smile back. They share one bowl, to and fro,

while we embrace one each, sip saki, lick 

salt from edamame but that is all, 

our well-lived hands on this pocket table-  

top in Berlin, theirs hidden beneath, our 

lips on spoon, bowl, memory, theirs only

on one another, this hot ramen night.

-

Australian Poetry Anthology, 2016 (5), p 73