The reception

 

Baby screams over the chorus

Causes the record to jump

Guests shuffle round the sticky patch

Eyeing it cautiously

Treating it suspiciously

Evidence of the killjoy attendee

And the rudest of interruptions

Somewhere in another room

Away from family and witnesses

A new bride cries the bitterest tears

Poetic vows, laughter at rice thrown

But this is the memory that’ll persist

Mascara stains a once-worn dress’ wrists

Where eyes are wiped and wiped again

And bridesmaids sigh at chances missed

And pray it never happens to them

In a corner, by the bar

Superficial words are slung like drunken punches

Or a best man’s boasts

Glasses raised in toast lay smashed

A mother contemplates

Taking her hat back to the shop

The dancing doesn’t stop

The DJ tries a joke

The groom fades to another shade of grey

Gagging for a smoke

One of many sacrifices centred round today

Father and Father-in-law over a pint agree

They have wasted their money

And give it six months, at best

In an hour, hostilities will cease

But no-one will forget

The girl who couldn’t forever hold her peace

The uninvited guest.