When they quarrel it’s a sonic B

O

                    O
                        M

With no particular regard for the neighbors’ tendency to assume.
The absolute worst.

But when they plead and deliver apologies
Those drip from their lips like syrup.
Heavy and sweet but quiet and neat.
Neighbors don’t catch it.
No one calls about that racket.

The couple draw closer to one another.
Ashamed of the things they said and did during the fight
Exhausted by the pain of their sleepless fall out night
Grasping one another
and the children in a desperate huddle that pulls
their proud chests in
Thankful for another moment of having their backs to the wind.