The guest

Beware, the guest who brings his own doorbell

Whose ring can make the mind’s pride swell

He’s such an entertainer, you wouldn't want him to leave

A magician whose repertoire can’t be hidden in a sleeve

Bringing gifts, keeping us engrossed, for lifetimes

Life becomes a board game, of good deeds and high crimes

Sins and boons are manufactured

Sustaining a belief, we’ll be freed and succored

The guest spins the same tale to every neighbor

He can’t be caught, he’s as flighty as water vapor

Once he’s let in, the door can never be closed

But with a soft, cold stare the game is exposed

As the last grain dribbles through the neck of the sand clock

And the final breath becomes poisonous as hemlock

The guest will finally leave, leaving behind the doorbell

It will never again ring, as we rejoin the eternal swell