Someone taps lightly
on my door every week
or so, waits while I wait
then finally goes away.
Is it the old neighbor
the crazy neighbor
the kind neighbor
a stranger?! I’ve
become adept at
quickly lowering
the volume of my life,
not breathing, huddling
with the cat, pulling curtains
close, peering at the intruder’s
shadow in the glass of my bedroom’s
one painting, assuring the dog it’s alright.
