After the camp he returned,

folding himself,

bringing back nothing, except

this swivelling way of watching

everyone, everywhere.

 

She waited

while he stripped the chicken carcass,

every sliver, not a scrap wasted,

leaving the bones polished,

scoured of meat;

a gleam on the plate.

 

It was only over

with the last shred eliminated,

and the silence reshaped around him.