Elephant in the Corner

Do you see the elephant?
The spotty gray one
In the corner?
Just standing there,
Smiling.

It is your fault.
My fault.
It’s there.

The thing between us
That we both want to talk about,
Scream about.
But instead we bite our tongues
Till we taste blood.

It’s there,
In my eyes.
The way they run from you like escaped convicts.

It’s there,
In your mouth.
The way it turns down when I walk by.

The elephant stares.
Its red-rimmed eyes
Laughing.
As we circle each other
In silence.

It stands there,
Grinning.
Until we
Open our mouths.

“We need to talk.”