table talk with Einstein's family

it was a mistake

marrying

Einstein's sister,

Marie.

the table talk was horrible.

me with my talk of sports

and movies.

my trivial babble

about nothing.

they ignored me. i sat

there in silence as

i listened

to her family

explaining the theory

of relativity, using

peas and carrots,

cutlery and plates

to describe how the big

bang took place. then

clearing the table

to give

the white tablecloth

a clean slate.

imagine this is the universe

Albert would say,

spilling gravy into

a baked

potato explaining

the density

of a black hole

and its gravity.  then

he'd throw

a biscuit across

the room,

pontificating on

the bending of light,

how our perception of time 

is a dumb but

common mistake.

when he'd say the word dumb,

for some reason

he'd look me in

the eyes

and a smile would cross

his face.