we need to talk

we need to talk,
she says
firmly, sitting at
the kitchen table
with hands folded.
I need to ask you a few
questions.
math questions, I respond.
I hope not.
or anything to do
with diagramming a sentence,
no geography either,
I can only name a few
of the seven
seas. i'm not good
at chemistry either,
I tell her, tap dancing,
collecting
my coat, my hat,
my keys.
what are you good at,
she says, trying
to find my eyes.
this, I tell her, making
light of
something serious.
something gone
terribly wrong,
this is what i'm good at.