Déjeuner du matin

Breakfast

He poured the coffee
Into the cup
He poured the milk
Into the cup of coffee
He added the sugar
To the coffee and milk
He stirred it
With a teaspoon
He drank the coffee
And put back the cup
Without speaking to me

He lit a cigarette
He blew some rings
With the smoke
He flicked the ashes
Into the ashtray
Without speaking to me
Without looking at me

He got up
He put on his hat
He put on
His raincoat
Because it was raining
And he went out
Into the rain

Without a word
Without looking at me

And I I took my head
In my hands
And I wept.

Jacques Prévert, translated from the French, ‘Déjeuner du matin’