The Guest

Our situation isn’t quite
square, the e
dges don’t meet, there ___ gaps spreading
we can’t fix, so we make-shift
instead, try, make do…you know?
But the shredded duct tape dangles, betrays, labels,
drip buckets list, overflowing and
the safety overflow bucket was upended yesterday
to serve as a seat for a guest…we didn’t know that then,
that he was a guest, I mean.  We thought maybe
a by-law officer, only there was no uniform,
no stiff posture and he didn’t check his shoes
after carefully, it seemed respectfully
picking his way through the garden.

This guest, arrived unexpectedly
with nothing but kind eyes and said
he wanted to make his home among us…

We’re still falling all over ourselves trying
to find a place for him, but he said
he didn’t need anything, not even a pillow.

© 2016 – Laurel Archer