Hebrews 13:2 ‘Do not neglect to show
hospitality to strangers, for thereby some
have entertained angels unawares.’

Silly to ask what I’m thinking
when the emperor’s cat has fallen
from the sky and howls telling stories
about his past lives.

And what can I say when he claims
to have met me upon the Great Wall,
when I was a militant soldier and he,
in his third life, a Siamese twin
telling lies to his partner,
pulling him this way and that
while I stood there
mocking.

Or the night he recalls being strong,
a laborer under night sky, digging
a grave and I was the corpse
a con man in top hat and tails,
shoveling the earth back into the hole,
faster than he took it out.

So believe me, it’s easier for me
to say nothing, especially when all
of his stories are vaguely familiar,
as if I once heard them read
from a book as I fell asleep,
and then like a memory
that was only a dream.

And yet he goes on about his ninth life,
a holy winged angel sent down to earth
portraying a vagrant, a beaten down
child and an addict who needs one
more chance, all opportunities for me
to show signs of compassion and love,
and have one more chance
before judgment.