beneath the surface

If you only heard one of them speak,
you would never realize
what was going on

but when you see them together
you see
the two sides of a river
forced to flow together
for years and years

yoked together with little taste
for each other

and each molding himself
against the other

replacing one another's
smiles for sarcasm
optimism for passive aggression

how much effort they must put
to not show every moment
how much they hate each other
and instead channel it this way