The Mother-In-Law (Poetry)

It was clear to me
right from the very
first time she met me
that she disapproved
baffled possibly

by her son’s poor choice
for a future wife
I knew straight away
there was nothing I
could do to thaw that

icicle in her
Sunday chapel hat
judging me heathen
foreign for sure a
sinful Southerner

Family dinner
served up in silence
each mouthful awkward
my eyes seeking his
across the table

Our divorce after
just four years gave her
conclusive proof I
was no more than a
flibbertigibbet