Each night on the internet
they spoke of this and that.
So much easier when it's just
a disembodied chat,
of humour and rumour
and of sex and love
and did either believe
in an almighty god above.
They talked of things
both obscure and odd
and ecological things
like the shortage of cod.
She always laughed
at his feeble jokes
told him he was
her special bloke.
He said if he'd been
younger by years
he'd've been to taste
her laughter's tears.
And when it came to
the end of their day
each closed down
and went on their way,
convinced their world
was a much nicer place
for their nightly view
of each other's face.
Though neither knew
if they'd really seen
a genuine photo on
their messenger screen.