The seat was empty
And then it wasn’t
He sat without appearing to sit
His order taken with no sign
Of a person having taken it
The wait for food
Unnoticeable
The bright light of a blue screen discernible even in the middle of the day
And how is it this,
More luminescent than the one true source of light
And he’s disconnected
From the sound around him,
From everything
But plugged in to some other world
And he’s able only to look away
Briefly
Pinching glances at the food
Having appeared on the table
And his glasses are thick,
Aquarium quality
But what is he hiding behind
Apart from
Everything
Gabrielle Gassin 
“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”