The Excuse

It is those times
over dinner
when we have lifted a glass
or two—

those times
without husbands, who are home
watching a game
or out with gun and skeet—

those times
with long-ago college schemes
or scandals
remembered—

when, although no longer hungry,
we nonetheless order a dessert
with three forks
as an excuse to linger.

For Monday Poetry Prompt, the prompt is “excuse.”