The Unwelcome Visitor

[Dante]

Hello, said the past, with a smug, smarmy smile
As I answered the door in my pajamas
He'd packed a suitcase, and it was clear he came to stay awhile

But, I protested, I moved
I left no forwarding address
No number
Took a new name
Wore a new face
How could you have found me?

Oh, he sighed contemptuously
Pushing past me through the door
Throwing himself down on my couch
Wriggling out of his shoes
And putting his smelly socks up on my end tables
Did you really think I couldn't find you?

I know everywhere you go
I know everything you do
I know your secret desires
Your deepest regrets
I'm with you always
No matter how far you run
I will always be there with you

And with that, he tipped his filthy hat forward
And took a nap on my couch

[Bermuda]

I feel like I could have written these lines myself. The last line on the third verse would be, "I created you." ...

Unwanted visitors either figurative or physical can be very difficult to cope with. I know you've been having a hard time, but I just want to tell you that you are strong. To share your experience shows that you are strong.

[Dante]

Thank you, Bermuda.  I like your third verse alternative, so true!  I appreciate your support.

[Armee]

This made me smile.

[Dante]

Thanks, Armee! 

[Papa Coco]

I love it!  Tempted to print it, put in in a frame and hang it over my desk!

[Dante]

Thanks, Papa Coco!

[woodsgnome]

Yep, how well  I know that experience. It seems like I'm on my way, I smugly tell myself. And then the real smug one -- the past and all it represents -- shows up, yet again. I was so sure it was all gone away, left behind, and then -- there's someone coming in the door, unannounced but oh so well known. Ugh.

[Dante]

Thank you, woodsgnome.  I just felt like the past coming back to haunt me, and so I had to capture the experience.