MY VISITOR
I see the shadow of a man lurking
in my hallway in the middle of the night.
Who could it be, worries me?
It could be my father, who would be upset
over the current political catastrophe
or it might be one of my brothers,
wondering why it’s taking me so long to join them.
Maybe it’s just my old friend, Jack,
always the joker—playing games
to tease me, poking around in my business.
I think he’s just visiting to gather material
on what’s currently going on in my life,
so he will be prepared to work me over
whenever my time is up, and we resume
the silliness we used to enjoy so much—
convulsive laughs that left us doubled over.