Words You Can’t Eat in Public
Conversation is risky
when mixed with vintage wine,
sweet then sour rise up from the glass
reveal feelings lingering at the bottom,
sullen looks and murmured remarks.
Did I say that out loud?
I wish I could avoid spaghetti
and talking about my mother.
I end up making a mess
sucking up long strands of noodles and regrets,
instead of winding them neatly around a spoon.
I blurt out how she drank vodka in the afternoon.
I tried to save her
but the stains were too deep.
My friend, Josie, can get out every kind of stain–
wine, ink, oil, even blood
but the shadows of the stains remain.
I try not to think about them. I scrub my mind
and give away my clothes. I certainly don’t
keep the evidence. Still I’m guilty.
My notices posted on telephone poles
get no replies.
Wanted: Stain remover.
Makes invisible pain disappear.
…..
This poem is from the chapbook Words You Can’t Eat in Public by Mercilee Jenkins (Finishing Line Press), and can be found at https://finishinglinepress.com/product/words-you-cant-eat-in-public-by-mercilee-jenkins/
Dr. Mercilee Jenkins is a poet, performance artist and playwright. Her poems have been published in the Healing Muse, San Francisco Chronicle and Reinventing Home as well as other small press journals and anthologies. She was a winner of Poets Eleven, San Francisco’s citywide poetry contest. It’s Later Than You Think, her most resent solo performance piece, was presented by 3Girls Theatre in San Francisco in 2024. Her 10-minute play, 50 Love Letters, was presented by L.A.’s Road Theatre Company in 2021. Her one act play, Winning, is included in Best American Short Plays 2014-15. She performed poetry from this collection at San Francisco’s Babylon Salon in 2025. She is an Emerita Professor of Communication Studies from San Francisco State University.
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