USA Family Kebab House, Merthyr Tydfil

Only the counter stands between them:

on the left, Gloria, shifting her fatness

from hip to hip, as if it were a baby,

on the right, him. She knows each move by now:

his body tight as he reaches with the knife,

slices the pole-dancing doner, dips his fingers

in the needless salad. Customer service

is love: Have a good evening, pretty lady.

She knows his shifts, his favourite football team

and where he lives. Back home,

she can’t wait for knives and forks,

shuffles some bills into a table mat,

lets chilli sauce drip down her chin.

Tomorrow’s his day off: she’ll need to be up early.

She opens a can, raises it to him.