Sorry, it is after two AM as I post this – but I have a weird-ass sleep schedule (or lack thereof), and it’s still “my Friday,” as it were, so it counts! It does! Really! : )
Please come in
I know the entryway is littered with
Broken shards of fragile ego
And the curtains on the windows
Are drawn tight against prying eyes
That might see too much, and run away
You can see there have been footsteps here before you
In the dust that I’ve been meaning to sweep up
They go in both directions
Who comes in, inevitably goes out
But the longer you stay, the more I’ll clean up the place
Crack open a window and let some sunshine and air in
Sweep away the cobwebs that have accumulated
In the recessed corners no one bothers to explore
I know there is a moat
Full of monsters and alligators
That you have to cross
And a guard dog who barks
Menacingly at any who near
But they are there for my protection, you see
Invaders have come here before
But once in the inner sanctum
I will show you the fire
Few have seen it, and those have been burned
Hence the retreating footprints in the dust
But I know somewhere, there is
A mad poet
Who will see the flame and
Caress it gently with their fingers
Their calloused, rough fingers
That have seen too many harpstrings and thorns
Immune to the damage done by a flame on soft skin
And upon feeling its heat
Will smile, and
Put their own candle beside mine
And our lights will dance in the same wind
And melt candle wax into the same pool
Accumulating on the table top.