You Can't Pull The Wool Over The Eyes Of An Unwelcome Caller Poem by cahen thrips

We cancelled the window cleaner,
allowed paint to peel from our doors;
flower beds untidy and overgrown -
weed and thistle thrust through gravel,
grass remains unmown;
carpets are worn - dust covers all floors
where curtains are drawn and torn;
slates slide from the roof leaving gaps
and the hedge is so lanky it taps
against the rotting eaves;
drains are clogged by dead leaves;
gates secured by chains.

All this we did for a purpose
so when Azrael steals near
he'd think the house is empty
because nobody could live here.

But he was not to be fooled so easily;
he knocked on our door anyway
and you had no choice but to slip the latch
and go with him on that wintry day.

It's all so cold -
I'm so tired and old,
since you went away.

February 2023