Bar Quiz

by Paul Bavister

We formed a team for the quiz

that played to our strengths:

geography, politics and film.

We called out to the quizmaster,

who shuffled his papers

under a slow-turning fan.

Then he started:

Who is having an affair with who?

Who is secretly in love with who?

Why have things grown cold between you?

At first we laughed,

but when we saw the empty sheet

on the table in front of us,

we started filling out the answers,

and this sudden honesty

was a quiet, outward breath

that left us shaking

with a sudden surge

of cleansing relief.