“Always Seeking Long-term Tenants”

A day of planned adventure, love, and wine—
a path to Paradise when going well—
has often led to that “no exit” sign
where people turn to one another’s Hell.
An Eden—always prompt in such a case—
evicts the two without the least delay,
but Hell prefers a fuller, louder space
and tends to offer pairs a longer stay.
For every minute passed in argument,
with every step on Hades’ dirty floor,
another wall of fortified cement
will block a gap that used to be a door.
And once your head’s beneath a roof of stone,
your choice is Hell together or alone.
 
Paul Burgess

If you have any thoughts about this poem, Paul Burgess    would like to hear them