Poem Of The Week 'It Comes With The Profession' by Ronan Browne

It comes with the profession


He counted every morsel that was given by his wife
or taken from his table.
“Do you want the bill now or later,” he expires,
Setting off this expenditure of unearned breath
against the pleasure of unsettling a guest
who might otherwise presume too much
and leave him with a deficit.


C Ronan Browne 2003

Ronan Browne is from Dublin. When in Limerick he reads at the White House Poetry Revival.