Public Protection


They sat at a table for two
Usual questions of choice
Unspoken until the waiter came

Waiting for their meal
Avoiding one another's gaze
Watching other diners

While he chases foam
Seeking solace in a glass
Of warm flat beer

She takes a tattered book
From the depths of her satchel
Hides behind it and reads

Eating slowly in silence
No comments or complaints
Company across the table

Yet nothing to say
No reason to smile
In a room of public protection.