she’s putting laundry away

slamming drawers

& doors

i wince wondering if

there is anything

she can do quietly

the difference between us

i tell her later

your daddy being white collar

mine being blue

she looks at me puzzled

yours never had to do night shifts

where we kids had to tiptoe

around the home all day

‘cos there’d be hell to pay

if you woke the old man up

she looks at me not knowing

where this or going

or coming from

i grew up as a stealth kid

seen but not heard

aiming for running deep

background silent

absent

resentful? she asks

which ting! ting!

starts the next round

of more misunderstandings

noise rather than peace